In Memoriam: Emily Ann Stipes Watts, 1936-2018

Emily Watts, a long-time faculty member at the University of Illinois, died on March 12 in Urbana, Illinois. She was 81 years old.

A native of Champaign, Illinois, Dr. Watts earned bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees from the University of Illinois. She served on the faculty in the English department for nearly 40 years at the University of Illinois, rising to the rank of full professor. She also served as chair of the Athletic Board, the Board of Control, and the Faculty Senate Council. She was the first woman on the Campus Research Board and later was chair of the Committee on the Status of Women at the university. Dr. Watt also served as chair of the Faculty Advisory Committee to the Illinois Board of Higher Education. She retired from teaching and was named professor emerita in 2005.

Professor Watts was the author of three books: Ernest Hemingway and the Arts (University of Illinois Press, 1971), Poetry of American Women from 1632 to 1945 (University of Texas Press, 1977), and The Businessman in American Literature (University of Georgia Press, 1982).