Judi Hughes was a Hilltopper fan long before she attended Western.

“When I was a little girl, I grew up going to ball games,” she said.

The daughter of the late Ken Given, Western’s first radio play-by-play voice, has been appointed by Gov. Ernie Fletcher to Western’s Board of Regents.

“Judi has a long history with Western through her family,” President Gary Ransdell said.

Hughes started at Western and then transferred to Indiana University while her husband, J. Marshall Hughes, attended law school.

Hughes graduated in 1969 with a degree in education from Indiana University and returned to Western to receive a master’s degree in sociology in 1974.

The Hughes Homes Inc. president said she looks forward to getting more involved with Western.

“It’s a chance for me to give back since Western gave to me,” Hughes said.

Hughes has a genuine dedication to Western and the Bowling Green community, Ransdell said.

A former Western teaching assistant, Hughes also taught at St. Joseph elementary and at Bowing Green Junior High.

She also served as a paralegal at her husband’s law firm for about 15 years.

Western’s student population and physical campus have seen many changes since Hughes attended Western, she said.

The red towel tradition was strong at Western, but there was no Big Red mascot, she said.

Regents chair Cornelius Martin said he looked forward to working with Hughes and Larry Zielke, the other newly appointed Regent.

Hughes and Zielke were sworn in at the July 30 third quarterly Board of Regents meeting.

“With their background and expertise, I think they’ll bring a lot of input to the board,” Martin said.

Hughes said she was impressed with the projects at Mammoth Cave and with the Clinical Education Complex that will house the Kelly Autism Program and would like to see Western grow even further with a global vision.

Reach Lindsey Reed at [email protected].