Hugh Downs

Hugh Downs is one of the most familiar American figures in the history of television. He was born in Akron, Ohio, and began his career in broadcasting as a radio announcer in Lima, Ohio. Hugh attended Bluffton College (Ohio, Wayne University (now Wayne State) and Columbia University. He holds a post-Masters degree in gerontology from Hunter College and holds honorary doctoral degrees from St. John's University, the University of Maryland, Daniel Webster College in New Hampshire, and Hunter College of the City University of New York. After serving in the U.S. Army he joined NBC in Chicago as a staff announcer - where he met his wife Ruth.

In 1954 Hugh joined the Home show on NBC, and from 1956-57 he was the announcer for Caesar's Hour. Also in 1957 he helped launch The Tonight Show with Jack Paar and stayed with the series for five years. Concurrently, in 1958, he became host of a daytime game series, Concentration, where he became a "household name". In 1962 he began a nine-year career as host of NBC's Today program, and in addition to those hosting duties he was a reporter and narrator for numerous news documentaries. For years Hugh was co-anchor of the ABC news program, 20/20 and in 1989 celebrated 50 years in broadcasting.

Hugh's other works include writing (he has authored a dozen books), teaching, lecturing, consulting and numerous other opportunities. In addition to Hugh's visibility as a national television figure, he is very creative and is a published composer, and has a long-standing interest in astronomy.

We in the Hugh Downs School of Human Communication feel very fortunate that Mr. Downs was generous enough to share his name with our school. He is an exemplar of the well-rounded communicator, and he has been a role model for communication effectiveness to the American public for more than fifty years. Thanks to his active involvement in our School, we now have more than a dozen undergraduate scholarships and our national profile has been considerably enhanced.