Eileen Hughes said that Providence College always had a special place in the heart of her late husband, Dr. Vincent L. Hughes ’48.

“Vincent loved Providence College and reminisced often about his years there and the many good friends he made,” she said.

Vincent arrived at Providence in the summer of 1945. Mrs. Hughes said that his choice to attend PC probably was influenced by the fact that he had two uncles in the Dominican Order, Rev. Edward L. Hughes, O.P. and Rev. Vincent R. Hughes, O.P.

Eileen and Vincent met during his sophomore year. They were married in December 1949 and shared many fond memories of the College. They spoke often about establishing a scholarship fund. With those thoughts in mind, Mrs. Hughes made plans to start the Dr. & Mrs. Vincent L. Hughes Scholarship Fund after her husband passed away in January 2004. She recently contributed $50,000 to establish the scholarship. With a pending match of $15,000 from Exxon Mobil Corporation, where Dr. Hughes was employed, the fund soon will stand at $65,000.

Mrs. Hughes intends to make additional contributions over the next several years to bring the fund to $200,000, at which point awards to students will begin. The scholarship is geared to help upperclassmen majoring in biology, chemistry, physics, or pre-med and who have completed six hours of study in philosophy or who have a strong focus on bioethics.

Although Mrs. Hughes received master’s and bachelor’s degrees from Louisiana State College and Newark (N.J.) State College, respectively, she took extension courses at PC and considers herself an alumna. She is a close friend of Rev. Joseph D. Cassidy, O.P. ’48, special lecturer in philosophy, who was Dr. Hughes’ roommate at PC.

“He was a brilliant physical scientist and mathematician. He understood also our integrative spiritual heritage at the College and encouraged others to follow it,” said Father Cassidy. “He was such a good person.”

The Hugheses have supported Father Cassidy’s research into the onset of autism and moral development in the autistic spectrum syndrome for seven years through annual gifts to the Dominican Scholarship Fund. Their contributions have helped pay for science stipends for students working with Father Cassidy on his research during the summer at the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, Mass. Mrs. Hughes said this support will continue.

For his major contributions both as a scientist who obtained numerous patents for Exxon and for his loyal and generous support of Providence College’s science programs over the decades, Dr. Hughes was given the Golden Anniversary Alumni Service Award in 1998 at his 50th class reunion. It was an honor he cherished, noted Mrs. Hughes.