Margaret Ann Hughes

is honored with a Brick from Dr. Gene Hughes.

This tribute to Dr. Margaret Ann Hughes begins with a speech given by her husband, WSU's 11th President (1993-98), Dr. Eugene Hughes, at the Plaza of Heroines campaign kickoff on March 18, 1997:

"I'm very pleased to welcome you all here today on behalf of Wichita State University.

If you picked up one of the brochures about this marvelous project, you'll notice a quilt is used as the background on the front cover. To me, that patchwork quilt is so fitting. Each brick, paver, or bench that is purchased represents a woman--or several of them--who have made a difference. Can't you just visualize all the bricks laid out here, representing women from all walks of life? It will be like a patchwork of sorts, made up of mothers, teachers, doctors, lawyers, other professions, daughters, role models, wives, grandmothers. I can't wait to see it.

In the same way, the Plaza of Heroines will be one patch in the quilt we call the WSU campus. When my wife, Margaret Ann, and I first visited this campus more than four years ago, we fell in love with the winding sidewalks, big shade trees, and beautiful landscaping. It's one of the reasons we came here and one of the reasons our admissions staff tells prospective students, "If you haven't seen Wichita State lately, you haven't seen Wichita State." You've got to come to this inviting campus to get a feel for what it's all about here. The plaza will fit right in at WSU, adding more landscaping and a beautiful place to view Sophia Vari's sculpture as part of our world-renowned outdoor sculpture collection.

Another way to extend the quilt analogy is a personal one. I have my own patches to add to the Plaza of Heroines. I am honoring Margaret Ann and because of our love for our deceased mothers, I want to honor them on our behalf as well. Margaret Ann is unable to be with us today because she is in Dallas caring for our new granddaughter Taylor Christine who was born by c-section, and her (our) youngest daughter Christi.

For over 20 years, prior to our marriage in 1992, I had a great deal of respect and admiration for this woman, a professional educator in her own right, who being widowed at an early age, raised three wonderful children as a single parent. At the same time, she successfully pursued and earned masters, education specialist, and doctoral degrees. After rising to the rank of Associate Vice President for Student Affairs, she reassessed her career and life goals and decided to leave university administration and return to full-time teaching. As president, and not then her husband, I tried to convince her to move onward and upward to a vice presidency and, ultimately, a presidency because I knew that she had the experience and ability to do so. But she said, "no."

Returning to the classroom, she quickly became known as Dr. "Mom" due to the tender loving care and home-cooked Italian meals provided her students. My respect and admiration turned to love when she invited a mutual friend and me to share one of those meals for our birthdays that were on April 1 and April 3, respectively. I was not the April fool, my friend was. Within a short period of time, I learned of the intense love of family that Margaret Ann had, not only for her three children, but for her entire Italian/Polish family, including her father, sisters, brother, aunts, uncles, and cousins. It was a love more intense than I'd ever experienced and one that amazes me to this date. Needless to say, I'm delighted that Margaret Ann came into my life and to share that intense love with me.

I'm pleased this afternoon to honor the love of my life, my dearest friend, partner, and colleague, Margaret Ann.

A quilt is often a family heirloom, full of warmth, hard work, and memories. I'm sure each of you have at least one woman in your life who reminds you of these things. I invite you all to take part in the Plaza campaign. Once it is done. It will be a wonderful addition to campus and to the Center for Women's Studies scholarship fund. You just might see me, Margaret Ann and our dog, Bailey, admiring Margaret Ann's brick, as well as those of our mothers, Hazel Marie (Hughes) Barfoot and Helen Mary Romeo."

Margaret Ann Romeo was born and raised in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the second of four children of Frank, Jr. and Helen Romeo. Her Grandpa Romeo immigrated from Italy in 1899, at age 16, and later sent for his fiancee and his two sisters; her Grandma Sadowski immigrated from Poland around 1900.

From elementary school through university, Margaret Ann exemplified scholarship, leadership, service. She was valedictorian of her high school class and was inducted into Phi Kappa Phi and Phi Beta Kappa at the university level. In high school, she was a student government leader and represented her high school on Milwaukee's city-wide student council and Wisconsin at the National Student Council meeting. She was president of the synchronized swim team, team captain for the Girls' Athletic Association, a cheerleader, worked part time, had a perfect high school attendance record (never absent nor tardy), and maintained straight "A" grades.

Margaret Ann's father was raised in a family where the women weren't allowed to attend college, but Frank and Helen wanted all of their children to have that opportunity. Margaret Ann was awarded a $1,000 national scholarship, but as the first female ever selected, she was required to sign a 'new' provision agreeing to return the funds if she married during college. In the 1950's, most women who attended college became teachers or nurses as there were few other role models; Margaret Ann became a high school teacher. Remembering her early years, Margaret Ann served as a mentor and role model and worked actively to provide encouragement, scholarships, and other assistance to many thousands of students throughout her career and her life.

She was among the pioneers in the area of female university administrators. Margaret Ann was the highest ranking woman at the first two universities where she worked, and often found herself serving on an inordinate number of university and state committees in addition to her administrative roles. She was aware that many watched ... some even hoped that a woman would not succeed. But succeed she did ... setting high standards and levels of excellence for herself and others, paving the way for many more women to follow.

Margaret Ann married her high school boyfriend, Dennis Michael Cibik, after graduating from college. Dennis was a military career officer; the young couple had the opportunity to live and travel in Europe and various parts of the U.S. They had three children: Jeff, born October 10, 1963 in El Paso (Ft Bliss) Texas; Mark, born February 8, 1965 in Heidelberg, Germany; and, Christi Anne, born September 8, 1967 in Greensburg, PA. Dennis succumbed to alcoholism and died at age 35.

Fortunately, Margaret Ann was in a better position than many other single women who were head of household; she had completed her Baccalaureate degree (Marquette University, 1962, Biology and Physical Education) and her Masters Degree (University of Texas, El Paso, 1971, Counseling) which enabled her to begin a professional career in higher education. Her first positions were at New Mexico State University as a Counselor and then as Assistant Director of Placement. As a single parent, she later completed an Education Specialist Degree (New Mexico State University, 1974, Guidance and Counseling) and a Doctorate in Education (Northern Arizona University, 1981, Educational Administration).

She moved her family to Flagstaff in 1972 and began her 24 year affiliation with Northern Arizona University, where she served as Assistant Dean of Students, Director of Admissions and New Student Programs, Assistant Vice President for Student Services, and Associate Professor of Educational Leadership. A primary responsibility for many of those years was in the area of Admissions and Recruitment, where Margaret Ann developed NAU's first comprehensive recruitment plan and related programs, including NAU Previews. NAU experienced substantial growth; enrollment increased from 11,000 to over 17,000 students during her tenure in this area. She received a national award for her accomplishments in Admissions and New Student Programs.

In 1989, with her family grown and on its own, she wanted to return to direct daily contact with students. Since she loved teaching and had maintained Adjunct Faculty status and a teaching role throughout her career, she asked then-President Hughes to assist her in a move to full-time teaching at NAU. Although President Hughes encouraged her to consider moving to her own vice presidency and then a presidency, she was not to be dissuaded; the Center for Excellence in Education invited her to join its faculty full-time that fall. In 1990, Margaret Ann received the Distinguished Faculty Award for her teaching and contributions to Northern Arizona University.

Gene and Margaret Ann had known each other professionally for over 20 years when they had occasion to have dinner together in 1991. They found that they enjoyed each other's company; a special love soon developed and they married in September, 1992. Gene retired from the Arizona system in 1993, after 23 years at NAU, and accepted the Presidency at Wichita State University.

Margaret Ann left Arizona reluctantly but the Hughes soon found a comfortable niche and home among the wonderful people of Kansas. Margaret Ann continued to assist eight of her NAU doctoral students in completing their degrees, but Gene implored her to assist with WSU's enrollment problems. She accepted the task of developing a comprehensive recruitment plan for WSU and also chaired the University Service Council, which was formed to identify and resolve many service and retention problems.

Christine Schneikart-Luebbe, a mentee of Margaret Ann's from Northern Arizona University, became Director of Admissions; together they felt they could do anything ... and they did. In three years, the ten year enrollment decline was slowed, then reversed; by Fall 1997, WSU's enrollment increase was larger than that of the other five Kansas Regent institutions combined.

In addition to her professional role at WSU, Margaret Ann also was WSU's "First Lady" from 1993-98 and an active member of the Wichita community, serving on the Board of Directors for Music Theater of Wichita, the Board of Trustees for the Wichita Art Museum, the Board of Trustees for Leadership Wichita, and, the Board of Directors for the Wichita Symphony. She also was a lifetime member of Soroptimist International of the Americas, served as President of two different Soroptimist Clubs, and was a member of Wichita's Forum for Executive Women.

The Hughes' decided to take more time to 'smell the flowers' and to throw away their two-year planners and retired December 31, 1998. Members of the campus and community expressed a sense of loss but also appreciation for a job well done, understanding the Hughes' desire to have more time together and to live closer to their families. At the time of their retirements, the Hughes' had a combined family of six children and nine grandchildren.

August 4, 1998