LOS ANGELES (CNS) – Private funeral services were pending today for John
Randolph “Jack’ Hubbard, the eighth president of USC and a former U.S.
ambassador to India.
Hubbard, 92, died Sunday at his home in Rancho Mirage after an extended
illness, according to USC.
“All of us at USC are deeply indebted to those whose impressive legacy
of leadership has laid a firm foundation for this university’s current
success,’ USC President C.L. Max Nikias said. “Jack Hubbard will always stand
proudly among those who inspired us with his dedication as an administrator and
as a teacher.
“I fondly recall the many conversations I had with Jack over the years,
and I greatly admired his keen mind, his quick wit, his passion for history,
his service to our country and his love of this university.’
A Texas native, Hubbard earned multiple degrees from the University of
Texas, including a doctorate in 1950. He served in the U.S. Navy during World
War II, rising to the rank of lieutenant commander and earning the
Distinguished Flying Cross and four Air Medals.
After the war, he taught British history at Louisiana State University
and European history at both Tulane and Yale universities. He later spent 12
years as the dean of H. Sophie Newcomb Memorial College, a women’s college at
Tulane. He then spent four years in India as a chief education adviser for the
U.S. Agency for International Development.
He joined USC as vice president and provost in 1969, and was unanimously
chosen the next year to succeed Norman H. Topping as university president, a
post he held until 1980.
During his administration, applications for admission to USC rose from
4,100 in 1970 to more than 11,000 in 1979. In 1975, he began the Toward Century
II campaign, a $265 million fundraising effort that was the university’s most
ambitious effort to date. It eventually generated more than $306 million for
the university.
While serving as president, he continued to teach a weekly graduate
seminar on British diplomatic history.
After stepping down as president he served as U.S. ambassador to India
in 1988-89.
USC renamed its Student Administrative Services Building as John R.
Hubbard Hall in September 2003. The university’s Mexican American Alumni
Association annually presents its highest honor, the John R. Hubbard Award, to
an outstanding Latino student.
Hubbard is survived by three daughters, Lisa, Melisse and Kristie; six
grand-children, his ex-wife Lucy Hubbard Haugh; and his longtime partner,
Marcia Adams.
Although funeral services will be private, USC plans to host a
celebration of his life in October.
In lieu of flowers, the family requested that contributions be made to
the John R. Hubbard Endowed Fellowship in History at the USC Dornsife College
of Letters, Arts and Sciences.

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