HWS News
18 August 2025 • Alums HWS 2025 Convocation: Honoring Walt Disney Imagineering Architect Richard "Toby" Pugh '67
As the new academic year begins, the HWS community welcomes students back and awards distinguished Vietnam Veteran, Architect and Alumnus Toby Pugh ’67 with the Hobart Medal of Excellence.
Hobart and William Smith will launch the 2025-26 academic year with its traditional Convocation ceremony on Sunday, Aug. 31 at 4:30 p.m. on Stern Lawn. New and returning students will join faculty, administrators and alumni in embracing a new year of learning, community and possibilities.
Convocation will feature reflections from President Mark D. Gearan, who will set the tone for the academic year ahead, and Walt Disney Imagineering Architect Richard “Toby” Pugh ’67 will be honored with the Alumni Association’s highest honor, the Hobart Medal of Excellence.
A veteran of more than 100 combat missions during the Vietnam War, Pugh served with distinction as an electronic warfare officer aboard B‑52s before embarking on an extraordinary architectural career -- the hallmark of which includes 20 years with Walt Disney Imagineering. There, he directed facilities standards and specifications, shaped design and storytelling at Disney resorts around the world, most notably in Hong Kong, Shanghai and Anaheim.
As a registered architect with more than 30 years of experience, Pugh runs Toby Pugh Architects LLC. In 2015, he was elected to the College of Fellows of the American Institute of Architects, an elite recognition reserved for fewer than 4 percent of AIA members globally. At HWS, Pugh earned a B.A. in psychology and was active in Phi Sigma Kappa, the Interfraternity Council, the Schola Cantorum, campus bands and St. John's Guild. As an alumnus, he remains deeply connected — serving as a reunion volunteer and an active supporter of the Salisbury Center for Career, Professional and Experiential Education, the Annual Fund and the Gearan Center for the Performing Arts.
The Convocation ceremony will begin with welcoming remarks from Senior Associate Dean Kelly Payne, followed by an invocation from Chaplain and Dean for Spiritual Engagement Rev. Nita Byrd. The program also features remarks by Provost and Dean of Faculty Sarah Kirk, a faculty address by Assistant Professor of Media and Society Jiangtao Harry Gu ’13, and a welcome from HWS Student Government President Emily Gorczinski ’26.
Executive Director of Alumni and Alumnae Relations Melanie N. Sage ’95, P’25, P’27 will present the Medal of Excellence to Pugh.
Pugh currently resides in Ranchos De Taos, New Mexico, with his wife Elizabeth Baker and is the father of Meredith.
