Houghton Mifflin Announces Appointment of Janet Hill to Board of Directors

Business Wire, May 11, 2000

Business Editors

BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 11, 2000

Houghton Mifflin Company (NYSE:HTN) today announced that Janet Hill will join the Company's Board of Directors effective June 1, 2000.

Mrs. Hill is currently the Vice President and owner of Alexander & Associates, Inc., a corporate consulting firm, and is the President of Staubach, Alexander, Hill, a commercial real estate consulting firm, both based in Washington, D.C. From 1977 to 1981 Mrs. Hill served as the Special Assistant to the Secretary of the Army at the Department of Defense. She also conducted mathematical research on behalf of the U.S. Navy and has taught high school and college mathematics.

"I am extremely pleased to welcome Janet Hill to the Houghton Mifflin Board. We will be very fortunate to benefit from the wide range of Janet's skills and wisdom. She is an enthusiastic and committed advocate of education, and her expertise and insight will no doubt contribute to the continued success of the Company."

Mrs. Hill is a member of the Boards of Directors of Dean Foods Company; Wendy's International, Inc.; Progressive Corporation; Nextel Communications; First Union Bank, Mid-Atlantic Region; the Fuqua School of Business at Duke University; and a Trustee of Wellesley College. Mrs. Hill has a Bachelor of Arts in Mathematics from Wellesley College and a Masters of Arts in Mathematics from the University of Chicago. Originally from New Orleans, she and her husband Calvin Hill now reside in Great Falls, Virginia.

Houghton Mifflin is a leading publisher of textbooks, instructional technology, assessments, and other educational materials for elementary and secondary schools and colleges. The Company also publishes an extensive line of reference works and fiction and non-fiction for adults and young readers. The Company's Internet site can be found at www.hmco.com.