CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — Ellis Eugene Hughes, son of Cathy Hughes of Pickens and the late Sam Hughes and grandson of Gertrude Hughes and the late Ellis Hughes and Essie Looper and the late Eugene Looper, took part in the doctoral hooding ceremony[cointent_lockedcontent] at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill on May 9.

Officially an August 2014 graduate, Hughes’ dissertation deals with the intersections of literature, religion and politics in 16th-century France.

Hughes and his wife, Emilie, live in Andover, Ma., where he is chair of the French department and head of the World Languages Division at Phillips Academy.[/cointent_lockedcontent]