Kathryn “Kathy” (Hughes) Seaber ’76M

Kathryn “Kathy” (Hughes) Seaber’s generosity to Millersville University is extensive. Her support has created a number of scholarships for students in varied majors, and her gifts to the softball program were honored in 2017 when the University named the team’s facility the Seaber Softball Stadium.

What drives Kathy to share her good fortune to enhance the academic and athletic experience of Millersville’s students? She credits a family legacy of giving and a love of education.

Kathy says her parents and grandparents were wonderful role models for her. They worked hard and generously supported their local communities and worthy organizations. Kathy’s grandfather, Russell C. Hughes, led the family printing business in Monroe County, Pennsylvania. The success of the company made it possible for him to establish the Hughes Foundation, which was created to support the local community. 

His love of writing and journalism, as well as his belief that education was very important, led him to establish in 1988 a journalism scholarship at Millersville for students from Monroe County. In doing so, he created a connection to the University that would grow stronger throughout the next few decades.

Kathy’s father also worked in the family business, which took him and his family from Connecticut, where Kathy and her two brothers grew up, to Ephrata. There, Kathy’s passion for education and desire to be a teacher grew. She attended Shippensburg University and earned her bachelor’s degree, then went on to earn a master’s in education from Millersville in 1976. She retired from Warwick School District after 38 years in the classroom, many of them spent teaching fifth graders.

Kathy knows how fortunate she was that her parents could pay for her college education, and she realizes that lots of students struggle when that’s not the case. Much of her support for Millersville has come as academic scholarships, like the Russell C. Hughes English Scholarship named in honor of her grandfather, to help make the University more affordable and accessible for students. In addition, the Hughes Foundation continues to support students from Monroe County who attend Millersville.

Kathy also has a special passion for supporting student-athletes, thanks to the numerous years she was a fan of the athletic endeavors of her late husband, Sam Seaber Jr. He played men’s slow-pitch softball for many years in Manheim Township and coached the Blue Angels, a Pennsylvania state champion women’s slow-pitch team, with his friend. Seaber Softball Stadium honors both Kathy and Sam as well as his love of the sport.

In addition, the Kathryn G. Hughes Seaber & Samuel J. Seaber Jr. Men’s Baseball Scholarship supports Millersville’s baseball recruits, and the Seaber Athletic Meal Support Fund helps student-athletes through partial or complete meal plan funding.

A personal relationship with former professor Jean Bradel led to the creation of the R. Clinton & Dorothy Hughes & Kathryn Hughes Seaber Vocal Scholarship in Honor of Jean Bradel. Kathy took private lessons with Bradel, and she and her parents established the music scholarship to share their appreciation for her.

Kathy is also generous with her time and serves on several boards in the Lancaster area – Anchor Lancaster, which offers vital services to people facing homelessness and hardship, Allegro Orchestra Lancaster and the former Lancaster Lemonade Concert Series. She is actively engaged with First United Methodist Church and is president of the governing body of its ministry, Discovery Corner Academy. And, she occasionally substitute teaches for Warwick.

Kathy also serves on the board of the Hughes Foundation, carrying on her family’s legacy of charitable giving. Her induction into the Fiat Lux Society acknowledges her ongoing philanthropy for Millersville University students and athletics.