It is with great sadness that we report the death of our colleague James F. (Jim) Kilroy.  Professor Kilroy died on June 13, 2019 following a long illness. Jim served Tulane for twenty years as Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences (1984-88), Dean of the Faculty of Liberal Arts and Sciences (1988-90), and Provost (1990-96), all the while as an active member of the English Department. He rejoined the English Department full-time in 1996 and became emeritus Professor of English at Tulane in 2004.

Jim, a son of Chicago, took his BA from DePaul University, his MA from the University of Iowa, and his PhD from the University of Wisconsin, Madison. Before arriving at Tulane, Jim taught English at Vanderbilt University. He rose through the ranks there to become professor in 1977, and he also served as chair of the English Department at Vanderbilt (1979-83).

Jim was a model scholar, teacher, and administrator. He viewed research, instruction, and service as complementary and encouraged the many faculty whom he recruited and mentored to do the same. While carrying a heavy administrative load, he wrote, co-authored, and edited eight books and numerous scholarly articles in the fields of Irish literature and nineteenth- and twentieth-century British literature. His courses and seminars on Joyce, Yeats, Keats, Tennyson, and Woolf captivated both undergraduates and graduate students. Jim was an especially avid explicator of Joyce’s great and difficult novel, Ulysses, which he could quote from memory. He also admired and taught the poetry of Seamus Heaney and the fiction of Colm Tóibín.

Jim embraced academic life as a noble calling and his conduct of that life enhanced its nobility. His insights and integrity impressed all with whom he worked. Students sought out his advice, particularly when they were applying for fellowships.  After he retired from administration at Tulane, he mentored many students who went on to win prestigious external awards.

Over the course of his long career at Tulane, Jim’s leadership improved every aspect of the university. Indeed, it is impossible to understand what is best about Tulane today apart from Jim’s many contributions. He was an early champion of diversity and equity at Tulane and of university partnerships with organizations such as the Ford and Mellon foundations. He was among the first of Tulane’s administrators to reach out to the wider New Orleans community, serving for example on the board of directors of the New Orleans Public Schools Scholarship Foundation.

In all his endeavors as an academic professional and person, James F. Kilroy was a man of character and vision. The School of Liberal Arts and the entire Tulane community are indebted to him and we mourn his loss. We send our condolences to his wife, Mary, his children, James, Mark, and Maurya, and their families. A celebration of Jim Kilroy’s life and career will be held on campus in Fall 2019.

Michael Kuczynski (English)

Dennis Kehoe (Classics)