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 by
Bob Wright (’75)
Sue (M.A. ’81)
and Dick Howard love retirement—traveling to exotic
destinations and meeting new and exciting people—a
dream come true. As an added bonus, the Howards’ adventures
are enhanced with a lot of giving, or “paying forward,” as
they call it.
“We are paying forward for all that education
will bring into the future,” says Sue. “We
are examples of what education can give to an individual.
And, we give for what education will give to others.”
The Howards’ business and leisure travel have
helped them learn the value of a global view. “This
university is a laboratory where young people find the
importance of working with and understanding others’ backgrounds
and cultures,” says Dick.“This is a great
asset in today’s global economy, and UH is already
there.”
Sue received her master’s degree in speech pathology
in UH’s Department of Communication Sciences and
Disorders. “I think what I love about UH is that
the quality is top-notch. It served me well, and I am
proud to have attended UH and now to give back.”
Through the efforts of Sue and the UH ComD Alumni Association,
the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders
is the new home for the UH ComD Alumni Association Scholarship
Endowment and its first faculty fellowship endowment.
In memory of Sue’s parents, the Howards also established
the Pattye Sue Stephens Lebel and Jesse Loran Lebel Communication
Disorders Faculty Fellowship Endowment for the support
of a faculty member in communication disorders.
The Howards also established the Raymond Oeland McCall
Scholarship Endowment for the American Humanics Program
in the Graduate College of Social Work as well as the
Howard Family Inspiring Excellence Scholarship Endowment
in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders.
“We believe in philanthropy, and we believe in
education,” says Dick. “Those two things
are really what is driving us to do what we do.”
They have another passion: traveling.“We travel
about 100 days a year,” says Sue. “As a former
engineer at Exxon for thirty-one years, I treat travel
like a business,” says Dick. “Today, we are
travel hosts who plan, set up, and take others with us
on vacations they would never take by themselves.”
“You’ve got to do something when you retire,” says
Dick. “Travel and our philanthropy—we really
enjoy our life today.”
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