Carnegie Mellon University
October 23, 2015

Memorial for Hilary Masters

By Shilo Rea

Photo courtesy of the Pittsburgh Post-GazettePhoto courtesy of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Hilary Masters, an acclaimed writer and beloved professor at Carnegie Mellon University, passed away over the summer at age 87.

Masters joined CMU’s Department of English in 1983 and spent the past 32 years inspiring students. A mainstay in the Creative Writing Program — one of the oldest undergraduate programs of its kind— Masters taught courses, such as Survey of Forms: Fiction and the Personal Essay Writing Workshop, most recently as last semester. Among his numerous awards and honors, he received the American Academy of Arts Award for Literature in 2003.

To honor Masters’ life and work, the English Department held a memorial service in October. Speakers included:

Sharon Dilworth, associate professor of English
Laura Scherb, senior professional writing and creative writing major
Jane McCafferty, professor of English
Jane Bernstein, professor of English
Bob Hoover, former book editor at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Kevin González, assistant professor of English
Peggy Knapp, professor of English

González also read words from Jim Daniels, the Thomas Stockham Baker University Professor of English, who was unable to attend.

The Department of English is also working to establish the Hilary Masters Endowed Scholarship.

Watch a video of the memorial service

View photos from the memorial

Learn more about Masters