A proud alum of the RIC History and Honors program, she returned to the College in 2004 after completing her A.M and PhD in Modern American History at Harvard University. Her scholarly interests in the international relations of the labor movement are reflected in her book, In the Interest of Democracy: The Rise and Fall of the Early Cold War Alliance Between the American Federation of Labor and the Central Intelligence Agency (2011). Fascinated as well by the history of social movements; immigration; science, technology and medicine; and in the American West, Hughes enjoys introducing her students to those subjects and to the craft of historical writing.