Campus Life

Texas A&M Foundation Appoints Dan Allen Hughes Jr. To Board of Trustees

Hughes is a 2019 Distinguished Alumnus of Texas A&M and a 2013 Outstanding Alumnus of Mays Business School.
By Dunae Reader, Texas A&M Foundation August 12, 2020

a photo of Dan Allen Hughes Jr
Dan Allen Hughes Jr.

Texas A&M Foundation

The Texas A&M Foundation has announced that Dan Allen Hughes Jr., president and CEO of the Dan A. Hughes Company (DAHCO) and Hupecol Operating Company, joined its Board of Trustees.

Hughes, who resides in San Antonio, earned his bachelor’s degree in management from Texas A&M University in 1980 and completed further studies in geology. He brings 40 years of experience in the oil and gas industry to his service on the board.

“I look forward to learning more about the investments and investment strategies of the Texas A&M Foundation and hope that my decades of experiences in oil and gas, real estate and private equity can be of service to the organization,” Hughes said. “I am extremely proud of Texas A&M and extremely proud to be an Aggie, and I am always willing to do what I can to give back to the university.”

Hughes has worked for his family’s oil and gas firm, DAHCO, since his college graduation. Founded by his father, Texas A&M Distinguished Alumnus Dan A. Hughes Sr., DAHCO is an independent petroleum exploration and production company that has successfully discovered and produced oil and gas for 55 years. The company develops, drills and operates oil and gas properties throughout Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida and the Rocky Mountains. Through its subsidiary, Hupecol LLC, the company has also discovered and currently operates significant oil properties in eastern Colombia.

“As we strive to be among the most trusted philanthropies in higher education, we seek to appoint trustees with exceptional business and leadership backgrounds,” said Tyson Voelkel, president and CEO of the Texas A&M Foundation. “I am honored to have Dan Allen join our board. He and his wife, Peggy, are incredible Texans who have impacted countless lives through their businesses, philanthropy and volunteerism. Respected for his leadership and business acumen, Dan Allen will add immediate value to our incredible Board of Trustees as they govern the Texas A&M Foundation.”

A 2019 Distinguished Alumnus of Texas A&M and a 2013 Outstanding Alumnus of Mays Business School, Hughes has served on many advisory boards at Texas A&M and was on the university’s presidential search committee from 2013 to 2015. He is a member of The Association of Former Students’ Century Club and serves on the 12th Man Foundation’s Champions Council as well as the Lead by Example National Campaign Council.

While attending Texas A&M, Hughes was a member of the Corps of Cadets and participated in the Memorial Student Center’s Student Conference on National Affairs as well as Phi Gamma Delta. “The Corps was very pivotal and important in molding my life,” he said. “It grounded me at a time when I needed it and taught me leadership, integrity and values. Other than my father, the Corps prepared me for life more than anything else I’ve ever been involved in.”

Hughes and his wife, Peggy, a 1982 Texas A&M health education graduate, are major donors to the university’s Berg-Hughes Center for Petroleum and Sedimentary Systems, a cross-disciplinary petroleum engineering research and education program that spans the College of Geosciences and College of Engineering. The couple has also contributed to the Kyle Field redevelopment and other athletic facilities as well as to Corps of Cadets scholarships.

Outside of Texas A&M, Hughes is a member of the Sul Ross State University Borderlands Research Institute Advisory Board and the All-American Wildcatters. He also chairs the Berg-Hughes Center advisory board. From 2013 to 2015, he was chairman of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission, on which he served from 2009 to 2015. He also serves on Texas A&M University-San Antonio’s advisory board. He and Peggy have three children: Dan III, William and Elizabeth.

Hughes replaces outgoing trustee, Randy Cain, Class of 1982, who served a seven year-tenure from 2013 to 2020. His appointment also coincides with the start of Kathleen Gibson’s term as Foundation board chair. Gibson, a Class of 1981 graduate and the president and CEO of Southwestern Medical Foundation since 2012, joined the Foundation’s board in 2016. She assumes leadership of the board from Otway Denny Jr., Class of 1971.

Texas A&M Foundation

The Texas A&M Foundation is a nonprofit organization that aspires to be among the most trusted philanthropies in higher education. It builds a brighter future for Texas A&M University, one relationship at a time. To learn more, visit txamfoundation.com.

Media contact: Dunae Reader, Texas A&M Foundation, dreader@txamfoundation.com

Related Stories

Recent Stories