John Edward Haugo

College of Education and Human Development, June 19, 2017

John Edward Haugo received a master’s degree in educational administration (1964) and a Ph.D. in educational administration and management information systems (1968) from the College of Education and Human Development at the University of Minnesota. An accomplished entrepreneur, Haugo is the retired chair of SearchAmerica, Inc.; founder and CEO of MedService Link, Inc.; and founder and CEO of Serving Software, Inc. Because of his vision and leadership in the area of computer technology, service delivery in education and healthcare was greatly improved. Prior to founding Serving Software, Inc., Haugo served as director of information systems for the Minnesota State University System and then as chair of the Governor’s Task Force on Computers in Education. The task force developed a plan for an organization called the Minnesota Educational Computing Consortium (MECC), a state-wide educational computing services and regulatory organization, where he served as executive director for six years. He is credited with influencing educational computing across the country. His nominator wrote, “If you used a computer as a Minnesota K-12 or college student in the 1970s and 1980s, you can thank John. If you learned keyboarding skills through a software application such as ‘The Wonderful World of PAWS,’ you can thank John. If you every played ‘The Oregon Trail,’ you can thank John. If you scheduled an appointment for surgery in the early 1990s, you can thank John.” Described as a gifted mentor, Haugo is an active community volunteer and loyal friend of the University of Minnesota.