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Brigadier General
Richard L. Hughes
Permanent Professor 1987–1995
B.S., United States Air Force Academy
M.S., University of Texas at Austin
Ph.D., University of Wyoming
Rich Hughes, the Academy’s 50th Permanent Professor, was born in Portland, Oregon, in 1946. He was the Outstanding Graduate in Psychology and Leadership from the United States Air Force Academy in 1967. Upon graduation, he accepted a graduate fellowship to the University of Texas at Austin, where he earned his Master’s degree in Psychology in 1969. He then returned to the Academy faculty in the Department of Psychology and Leadership. After one year as an Instructor, he served as the Director of Administration in HQ 7/13 AF, Udorn Royal Thailand AFB. He returned to the Academy faculty in 1971 to the reorganized Department of Life and Behavioral Sciences. In 1972 Rich was sent to graduate school at the University of Wyoming, Laramie, where he earned his PhD in Clinical Psychology in 1975. He next completed an internship in Clinical Psychology at Wilford Hall Medical Center, Lackland AFB, TX. Returning to the Academy in 1976 as an Assistant Professor in the again reorganized Department of Behavioral Sciences and Leadership, he directed the individual behavior track of the Behavioral Sciences major. In 1980 he was assigned to the Deputy for Military Instruction, Commandant of Cadets, where he assisted in the development of several military training programs. In 1983 Rich was assigned to the Executive Development Office, National Defense University at Fort Lesley J. McNair, Washington, DC. He again returned to the Academy in 1984 where he served as Deputy Head of the Department of Behavioral Sciences and Leadership. Following the retirement of Colonel Williams, Rich became the Department Head in November 1985. He was appointed a Permanent Professor in 1987. During his tenure he most notably served the Academy as the Chairperson of the Ad Hoc Committee on Respect and Dignity, which was established by the Superintendent in 1993. Perhaps the most significant of the committee’s several recommendations that the Academy adopted was the establishment of an Office of Character Development. That office has evolved into the current Center for Character and Leadership Development. In 1993 Rich was the lead author on the textbook Leadership: Enhancing the Lessons of Experience, now in its 9th edition. He retired from active duty in 1995.
After retiring, Rich accepted a position in Colorado Springs with the Center for Creative Leadership where he taught, served in several senior leadership positions, and was senior author of the book Becoming A Strategic Leader: Your Role in Your Organization’s Enduring Success, now in its 2nd edition. Rich returned once again to his alma mater from 2007 to 2012 as the USAFA Transformation Chair. In this position his duties were primarily to facilitate internal institutional transformation, which he did by leading the initial assessment of the USAFA Outcomes that formally state the expected results of the cadet experience, and the USAFA effort on Making Excellence Inclusive, reflecting the Academy’s alignment with initiatives among colleges and universities across the nation. Rich was promoted to brigadier general in 2010.