Dr. Hugh Joseph Morgan of Oxford, Ohio died peacefully on Tuesday, December 6, 2022 at Serene Suites in Blue Ash surrounded by friends and colleagues.  He was 86. Hugh taught at Miami University from 1980 to 2003 and retired as a beloved Professor Emeritus of English and Journalism.

Hugh was born on August 8, 1936 and attended Roman Catholic schools in Cleveland, Ohio; LaGrange Park, Illinois; and Canon City, Colorado. He graduated from the University of Oklahoma in 1958 with a B.A. in journalism, and he earned his M.A. there in 1967. He worked as a correspondent for the Associated Press in offices in New Orleans, El Paso, Jackson, Lansing and Detroit, where he remembered covering a speech by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and personally interviewing him. Hugh earned a doctorate in American History in 1985 from Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, writing his dissertation on the American press' perceptions of Mexican President Lazaro Cardenas during the 1930s.

When Hugh joined Miami's English Department in 1980, its journalism program was foundering. Hugh was instrumental in its revival. First, he brought significant personal experience from his career as a professional journalist, experience that he readily shared with his students. Then he brought an unbelievable commitment to the success of the program.  A former department chair testifies that no one spent more time than Hugh in Bachelor Hall talking with students and offering them guidance and attention. If students were having academic problems, they would come to him; if they were having social problems, they trusted his counsel. Another department chair could not remember a time when Hugh was not there with his door open and working one-on-one with groups of students on their assignments. At 8 a.m. on Sunday mornings Hugh would be there to open the computer lab for students who couldn't get there during the week. As a colleague put it, "Hugh's life was a blessing for others, though not easy for him."

In 1992 Hugh was chosen Educator of the Year by the Miami University Alumni Association on the basis of nominations from former students. In both 1996 and 2000 Hugh was selected by Miami seniors and Associated Student Government as the university's most Outstanding Professor.

In the 1990s Hugh spent his summers in Miami, Oklahoma, working along with students to produce the first newspaper that the Miami Tribe of Oklahoma ever had. The Tribe continues to use the same format today to keep their members informed about current Tribal activities and news from community members. It was what one colleague called "quite an accomplishment" and "the best example of service learning" she had ever known.

Hugh was a lifelong vegetarian who meditated daily, and he often returned to his "four pillars" of meditation: Peace within oneself and the world, racial equality, gender equality, and developing one's humanity and responsibility. He was a deep thinker, a kind and quirky soul, and generous to a fault. There will never be another person quite like him.

Hugh is predeceased by his parents, Dr. James Morgan and Josephine O'Laughlin Morgan, and his siblings Mary Jo Cortellino and James Morgan. He is survived by three nieces and hundreds of former students and colleagues, who remained devoted to him throughout his life and whose friendships he cherished.

A celebration of Hugh's life and work will be held on January 14, 2023 at Kofenya coffee shop in Oxford. Please contact jloeb@rmhouse.org if you plan to attend. Contributions in Hugh's name may be sent to the Oxford Unit, NAACP, P.0. Box 70, Oxford, OH 45056.