Smith Scholar Spotlight

G. Ted Hughes, M.D.

It was a good day for G. Ted Hughes when Eastern Virginia Medical School opened in Norfolk in the mid-1970s. That meant he could continue on his path of being totally educated in Norfolk -- from elementary school through medical school.

The Lake Taylor High School alumnus graduated from Old Dominion and was selected as one of the first Florence L. Smith Medical Scholarship recipients at EVMS in 1978. Until 1977 the Smith scholarships had been awarded only to students at the Medical College of Virginia in Richmond and the University of Virginia School of Medicine in Charlottesville – the two medical schools named by the scholarship donor in 1952. But when EVMS was founded, the Hampton Roads Community Foundation board went to court and proved that Florence Smith likely would have wanted EVMS students to compete for scholarships if she had known there would be a medical school in her city.

Hughes, a Norfolk obstetrician and gynecologist, completed residency in Norfolk and settled into practice in his hometown where he has delivered more than 3,345 babies. He also teaches at EVMS and heads the only midwifery center in Virginia. The highlight of Hughes’ career so far is being named three times by EVMS residents as the ob/gyn Teacher of the Year.