Aubrey Hough, M.D., Receives ‘University Professor’ Honor
Aubrey Hough, M.D., right, shakes hands with Clint Kilts, Ph.D., as Hough formally is named a University Professor and as a photo of him is projected behind them.
| April 15, 2015 | The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) recently named Aubrey Hough, M.D., a University Professor. He is the first UAMS faculty member to receive the honor.
University Professor is a special honor conferred only to active faculty in recognition of an extended period of exemplary service in a spirit of collegiality to UAMS and a combination of service in their profession and the public through their professional activities. To achieve this distinction, faculty members also must have gained wide recognition at the national or international level for their sustained excellence in service, teaching, research or creative activity relevant to their disciplines and academic roles.
In 1970, Hough received his medical degree from Vanderbilt University School of Medicine in Nashville, Tennessee. He completed an internship in 1971 and a residency in 1972, both in the Vanderbilt University Hospital Department of Pathology. He is a graduate of Hendrix College and North Little Rock High School.
Hough joined the UAMS College of Medicine faculty in 1980 as professor and vice chair of the college’s Department of Pathology. From 1981 to 2002, he served as the department chair. One of his greatest contributions to the department was his development of the pathology residency program, which expanded from eight to 18 core positions along with several fellowships.
Aubrey Hough, M.D.
His interest and achievements have been broad and have extended beyond the department to the College of Medicine and clinical areas of UAMS. From 1986-1988 and again from 1998-2000, Hough served as chief of staff of the UAMS Medical Center. He served three terms over a 25-year period as chair of the college’s Minority Recruitment and Retention Committee and for more than 12 years as co-chair of the UAMS Emergency Preparedness Committee.
Hough has served in a variety of leadership positions in the UAMS College of Medicine in addition to his posts in the Department of Pathology, including associate dean of special projects and his present positions as associate dean for translational research and special programs, special assistant to the chancellor, director of audit and quality assurance at the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute and executive administrative director and the chancellor’s special representative at the Myeloma Institute. He has co-authored numerous grants which included other campuses of the UA system, including University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, the UA Division of Agriculture and the Agricultural Extension Service.
Another of Hough’s special talents has been recruitment. He has served on 20 search committees and chaired or vice chaired 13. His primary focus and a key to his success was his focus on securing top quality candidates for the positions. One asset in recruitment and retention efforts are endowed academic chairs, and Hough has been instrumental in securing two — the Aubrey Hough Chair in Pathology and Drs. Mae and Anderson Nettleship Endowed Chair in Oncologic Pathology.
For his contributions to UAMS, to the state of Arkansas, Hough has been recognized numerous times. In 2004, the university promoted him to the rank of Distinguished Professor of Pathology, the third Distinguished Professor appointment in the history of UAMS. He also received the Distinguished Faculty Award from the College of Medicine Caduceus Club and was named a Distinguished Alumnus of Hendrix College.
As an educator, Hough’s career has been equally distinguished and honored. The Student National Medical Association honored him with the Special Faculty Recognition Award in 1989 and again in 1994. He has received several nominations by UAMS students for the Sophomore Golden Apple Award for teaching as well as Red Apple Teaching Awards, and in 1997, he received the Golden Apple Award. Several College of Medicine senior classes have honored him with the Red Sash Award for teaching. In addition, he taught a course in the “Biology of Cancer” to University of Arkansas at Little Rock students for several years.
“Dr. Hough now enters his 35th year as a senior faculty member of the College of Medicine,” said Chancellor Dan Rahn, M.D. “His impact has been felt nationally where his many accomplishments have brought credit to UAMS and the UA System. UAMS and the College of Medicine would be very different without his many contributions.”