He attained a university teaching position at the Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst Mannheim (Mannheim University of Music and Performing Arts) and became its president in 1951.
In 1955 he became a professor.
In 2000 his widow and the Mannheimer law professor Claus Meissner created the Beethoven Klavierwettbewerb Richard Laugs (Beethoven piano competition Richard Laugs) in Laugs' memory.