NDSU alumnus Hugh McDonald received the College of Engineering’s Distinguished Alumni Award Oct. 5. McDonald also met with students and campus leaders and gave a guest lecture to a construction management class during his visit to campus.

McDonald, who graduated with a bachelor’s degree in construction management in 1980, served as president and chief executive officer of Entergy Arkansas Inc. from 2000 until his retirement in 2016. Entergy Arkansas is the largest electric utility in the state, serving more than 700,000 customers.

He joined Entergy in 1982 as an engineer at Waterford 3 nuclear generating plant in Louisiana and held various management positions in the distribution, transmission, customer service, retail marketing and regulatory business functions in Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas and Arkansas.

McDonald supports students in the College of Engineering through the Hugh and Michelle McDonald Scholarship, serves as a Trustee for the NDSU Foundation, is a past board member of the United States Chamber of Commerce and served as past board chair of the Arkansas State Chamber of Commerce.

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