Following appointments at Queen's and at the International Atomic Energy AgencyinVienna, he became Professor of Information Systems Engineering at the University of Ulster in 1991. There he held a range of senior academic positions and was actively involved in promoting research and technology transfer initiatives which attracted substantial funding to the university. He sits on the boards of a range of public and private sector organisations. Under his presidency at Maynooth, the institution suffered severe financial problems.[7]
Hughes was criticised for appointing his then wife to a high-paying position at Bangor,[9] and the purchase and refurbishment of his house by the university (costing the institution £750,000)[9][10][11] as well as for a number of other scandals and for being a non-Welsh speaker.[12] Under Hughes's leadership, Bangor University faced severe financial problems, resulting in several reductions of staff. From his takeover in 2010, when Bangor University made a £4.2 million profit, to 2017, the university's nominal income had risen by 12 per cent, but their expenditures by 19 per cent with the university's interests and finance costs soaring by 747 per cent.[13][14] In 2017/18, the university had to spend £10m in interest payments on its debts. From 2013/14 to 2017/18, Bangor University cut staff numbers from 1777.7 to 1608 FTE (minus 9.5 per cent). During the same period, student numbers grew from 10.646 to 11.156 (plus 4.8 per cent), increasing income from student fees.[15] In early 2019, an accountant who studied the university's finances on behalf of trade union criticised that the figures suggested spending had been diverted from staff costs to financing building projects.[16] When a new financial crisis as well as allegations of racist and sexist harassment against his ex-wife were revealed in late 2018, Bangor University announced Hughes's resignation by December 2018, eight months ahead of his ordinary retirement.[17][18][19]
