Lipscomb loses friend with the passing of Elizabeth Hughes
Kim Chaudoin | 615.966.6494 |
The Lipscomb community is mourning the loss Sunday, May 10, of Elizabeth S. Hughes, longtime university benefactor. Hughes turned 100 this past March 19.
Hughes was passionate about providing opportunities to foster creativity and arts education. In 2009, she made the lead gift to fund the James D. Hughes Center, a $4 million complex that houses the university’s art department in a beautiful and creativity-inspiring facility. The building was named for her late husband, James D. Hughes, who was director of art education for Metro Nashville Public Schools for nearly 30 years.
“We are blessed when people, like Elizabeth Hughes, are such good stewards of their resources that they can make gifts that affect generations of people to come,” said L. Randolph Lowry, Lipscomb president. “Her gift to help build the Hughes Center brought our arts program out of a dark basement into a beautiful, bright new facility that inspires students to fill the blank canvas of their creativity with anything they can dream to fill it with. We will remember both Mrs. Hughes, and her husband, James, for that kind of forward thinking, passion and generosity."
The building, which opened in 2010, provided Lipscomb’s first facility designed specifically for the art department. Before moving to the Hughes Center, the art department had been located for many years in the lower level of Sewell Residence Hall. The Hughes Center is an innovative space that has inspired creativity and a quest for knowledge to hundreds of students with its studios bathed in natural light from skylights and windows, outdoor work areas and art gallery among other spaces. It also is home to the Raymond B. Jones College of Engineering.
“Elizabeth Hughes' belief in the value of arts education as well as her generous gift provided a new innovative, home that breathed new life into Lipscomb's art program and will foster creativity and a love for the arts in students for years to come,” said Mike Fernandez, dean of Lipscomb’s College of Entertainment & the Arts, which houses the art department. “We appreciate her support of our program and the legacy she leaves behind."
Lipscomb alumnus Michael Shane Neal said he “deeply appreciated Mrs. Hughes for her inspiring love of the arts, commitment to her husband's artistic legacy and her support of the visual arts at Lipscomb.”
“She made possible the first carefully planned and dedicated facility on campus for the study and creation of art,” said Neal, an internationally renowned portrait artist. “Her gift to Lipscomb has helped pave the way for the department of art, giving it the tools to remain competitive in the field of Christian education, and added another building block in the fundamental foundation of a liberal arts education at Lipscomb University.”
Hughes’ desire was to continue to support arts education at Lipscomb for years to come, said Paul Stovall, director for the Center for Estate and Gift Planning at Lipscomb. As part of her estate plan, Hughes left Lipscomb University a gift to fund the James D. and Elizabeth S. Hughes Endowment in the Department of Art.
“What an impact she made in the lives of numerous Lipscomb students,” said Stovall, who worked with Hughes to plan the endowment gift. “Having never personally attended Lipscomb, she loved it like her own child. She was so excited to see the James D. Hughes Center built. She was so proud when she was able to invite her friends to see it. While Mrs. Hughes deflected any personal accolades or attention, it was great to help her envision a legacy being built. I take comfort in knowing her wishes can be realized and students’ lives can be blessed.”
Arrangements are incomplete at this time, but a celebration of life is being planned for June. In lieu of flowers, the family is asking that donations be made in her memory to the James D. and Elizabeth S. Hughes Endowment in the Department of Art. For more information about making a memorial gift, visit give.lipscomb.edu.