Alumni Spotlight - Mary K. Hughes

Mary K. Hughes (L) and her sister Patricia Ann (R) in 1968. Photo by Alice Puster from The Anchorage Times.
Mary K. Hughes (L) and her sister Patricia Ann (R) in 1968. Photo by Alice Puster from The Anchorage Times.


 

Mary K. Hughes is a member of the UA Board of Regents. She graduated from the University of Alaska in 1971 with a BBA in management, before the School of Management was established.



Why did you choose to attend UA in Fairbanks?
My father, John C. Hughes, believed in supporting state public universities. The University of Alaska was in College, AK. Both my sister, Patricia Ann, and I matriculated at U of A and received the Alaska State Room Scholarship. We had been on campus for the summer music camps so we were already familiar with the facilities and music faculty.

Share with us an outstanding teacher or class.
Frank Danner, now a retired partner from KPMG Peat Marwick accounting firm, was very influential in my decision-making regarding my major. I planned to attend law school and wanted to select the best college major for me.

Harold Dinkins taught economics and I took every course he taught. He influenced me to attend labor economics courses in Edinburgh between college and law school.

Donald Kaufmann taught creative writing and was an inspirational and energetic professor. He received his doctorate from the University of Iowa, so we felt privileged that he was with us at UA.

What is a favorite college memory?
I loved UA. I was one of a very few 1967 Anchorage high school graduates to attend UA and I feel my college experience could not have been duplicated elsewhere.

How did UA prepare you for your professional career?
My classes in business and economics provided a practical curriculum. Further, my course study prepared me for the LSAT.

What does being a UA alumna mean to you?
I was born on Kodiak Island and raised in Anchorage, so graduating from UA was the perfect precursor to my further education and professional career.

What is the number one skill learned at UA that has contributed to your success?
I was involved in student government and President William R. Wood and VP of Academic Affairs Donald R. Theophilus were instrumental relating strategies of persuasion: listening, strategizing, and artfully articulating.

What advice do you have for current students?
Take full advantage of the opportunity of education and its accoutrements. Life has a way of surprising you with pleasant and meaningful learning.

 

Mary with her husband, Andrew Eker, on the Nushagak River in 2016
Mary with her husband, Andrew Eker, on the Nushagak River in 2016


 


  • What is your favorite breakfast food?  A perfect cappuccino.

  • Dream vacation destination?  I live my dream…exploring Alaska and communing with Alaskans!

  • Book you are currently reading?  “Beneath a Scarlet Sky” by Mark Sullivan.

  • Song that always makes you dance?  “Wonderful Tonight” by Eric Clapton.

  • If you could switch jobs with anyone for a day, who would it be and why?  I was fortunate to have the opportunities presented via my profession and positions in the public, private and non-profit sectors. I cannot remember a time that any other job enticed me, even for a day.


 

Mary speaking at the Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges’ National Conference on Trusteeship
Mary speaking at the Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges’ National Conference on Trusteeship