He served as the director of the Center for Urban and Regional Studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill from 1970 until 1993.
[1] Howes re-enrolled at UNC for his graduate studies in 1959, obtaining a master's degree in city and regional planning.
[1] As Mayor of Chapel Hill, Howes also contributed his expertise on regional planning during his tenure on as the Triangle J Council of Governments.
[2] Howes was later awarded the Order of the Long Leaf Pine, North Carolina's highest honor, for his contributions as secretary.
[1] In 1997, Howes was appointed Special Assistant to the Chancellor James Moeser for Community Affairs at UNC-Chapel Hill.
[3][5] Howes oversaw UNC's "town-gown" relations between the university and the larger community as a special assistant to the chancellor.
[2][3] In addition to his positions at UNC, Howes served as the interim general manager of WUNC Radio, the flagship National Public Radio member station for the Research Triangle area of North Carolina, from 2001 to 2002, while the station sought a permanent general manager.