Members of the Newman University community ranging from faculty to staff and from current students to alumni gathered in the McNeill Conference Room Dec. 8 to bid farewell to Professor of Education Don Hufford, Ph.D.
Hufford came to Newman in 1992 following his retirement from a three decades-plus career working with troubled youth in Massachusetts, Illinois and Kansas. Hufford, who had already earned an undergraduate degree in Psychology from Baker University and a master’s degree in Education from Ft. Hays State University, then followed his interest in education and in 1992 earned a Ph.D. in Foundations of Education from the University of Kansas.
“I was the oldest faculty member when I got here,” Hufford joked.
Hufford’s wife, Evie, was also a member of the teacher education faculty in Newman’s School of Education for nine years. She passed away in October 2002, a month after their 50th wedding anniversary. The Evie Hufford School of Education Resource Center in McNeill Hall is named in her honor.
Don Hufford is widely respected as a teacher and scholar, and has published articles in many academic journals and made presentations at diverse academic conferences. While Hufford will stop full-time teaching duties at Newman at the end of this semester, he will still be seen around campus in the months to come. Hufford will fill in occasionally for education faculty members as needed, and clean out his office in McNeill Hall.
“That alone could take several months,” he said.
Look for more about Hufford, including video, in the Spring 2015 issue of Newman University Magazine.
