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Hendrix Alumnus to Receive Honorary Doctorate at 2016 Commencement

Hough_3-21-05_07CONWAY, Ark. (April 21, 2016) – Hendrix College alumnus Dr. Aubrey J. Hough, Jr. ’66 will receive the honorary degree of doctor of science during the 132nd Hendrix Commencement on Saturday, May 14, at 9 a.m., in the Wellness and Athletics Center Event Gym.

Hough is a distinguished professor and former chairman of the Department of Pathology in the College of Medicine at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS). He was only the third UAMS faculty member to be named Distinguished Professor of Pathology. In 2007 he was appointed to the Drs. Mae and Anderson Nettleship Endowed Chair in Oncologic Pathology. Last year he became the only UAMS faculty ever named a University of Arkansas System University Professor, conferred only to active faculty in recognition of an extended period of exemplary service.

“I am deeply honored that my alma mater has chosen to recognize me in this way since my only real strength is making the people around me better,” Hough said.

Hough graduated from Hendrix in 1966 with high honors and received the Hendrix Alumni Association’s Distinguished Alumnus award in 1999. He endowed the Charles Prentiss Hough Odyssey Professorship and has supported other Hendrix development efforts, including organizing the Shideler Research Fund for the Chemistry Department.

“We are excited to honor Dr. Hough in this manner,” said Hendrix President Bill Tsutsui. “Hendrix has a longstanding history of serving the medical profession in Arkansas and across the country with distinguished graduates like him. He is an inspiring example of the value of a Hendrix education, and we’re delighted to celebrate his personal and professional legacy as we say goodbye to the Class of 2016.”

Scott Shirey, founder and executive director of KIPP Delta Public Schools, will address the Class of 2016 at Commencement. He is an alumnus of Colby College in Waterville, Maine, and taught for three years in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, as a Teach For America corps member. Forbes Magazine listed Shirey as one of the world’s seven most powerful educators in November 2011. In 2015, Hendrix partnered with KIPP Delta in an effort to increase college completion rates for underserved students in the Delta. The partnership inspired the Hendrix Aspire Scholarship program.

About UAMS

UAMS is the state’s only comprehensive academic health center, with colleges of Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy, Health Professions and Public Health; a graduate school; a hospital; a northwest Arkansas regional campus; a statewide network of regional centers; and seven institutes: the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute, the Jackson T. Stephens Spine & Neurosciences Institute, the Myeloma Institute, the Harvey & Bernice Jones Eye Institute, the Psychiatric Research Institute, the Donald W. Reynolds Institute on Aging and the Translational Research Institute. It is the only adult Level 1 trauma center in the state. UAMS has 3,021 students, 789 medical residents and two dental residents. It is the state’s largest public employer with more than 10,000 employees, including about 1,000 physicians and other professionals who provide care to patients at UAMS, Arkansas Children’s Hospital, the VA Medical Center and UAMS regional centers throughout the state. Visit www.uams.edu or www.uamshealth.com.

About Hendrix College

Hendrix College is a private liberal arts college in Conway, Arkansas. Founded in 1876 and affiliated with the United Methodist Church since 1884, Hendrix is featured in Colleges That Change Lives: 40 Schools That Will Change the Way You Think about Colleges and is nationally recognized in numerous college guides, lists, and rankings for academic quality, community, innovation, and value. For more information, visit www.hendrix.edu.