R.D. Hubbard and Joan Dale Scholarship for Horatio Algers Scholars

Mr. Hubbard was born in 1935 in Smith Center, Kansas. In 1959, he joined Service Auto Glass as a salesman and quickly moved into management, then became president and part owner of the company and its parent company, Safelite Corp. He remained president through two acquisitions, then resigned in 1978 and bought two small glass companies. He moved to Kingsport, Tennessee, where he developed AFT Industries into one of the largest flat glass manufacturers in the country and a Fortune 500 company. He sold it in 1992. While in Wichita, he invested in commercial real estate and, with a partner, purchased Coors of Kansas. When he sold the business in 1982, it was rated third in the nation.

During his time at Safelite, Hubbard developed an interest in horses and began breeding and selling thoroughbred horses. In 1988, he purchased Ruidoso Downs Race Track in New Mexico and in the late 1980s he and a partner opened The Woodlands, a horse and greyhound facility in Kansas City, Kansas. Today, he lives in California and is chairman of Hubbard Enterprises, which manages his business interests in golf courses, racing and real estate. In 1981, the Life Sciences building at Wichita State was renamed the R. Dee Hubbard building in his honor. With his wife, Joan Dale, Mr. Hubbard established this scholarship to support students selected to participate in the national Horatio Alger Scholars program.