Harry Cargas Named to Athletic Hall of Fame


Dr. Harry James Cargas, a professor emeritus and English Department faculty member from 1970-1998, has been named posthumously as a memer of the inaugural class of the Webster University Athletic Hall of Fame.

Cargas served as athletic director for the 1988-89 academic year, guiding the department through a transition year. He was a leading proponent of sportsmanship as the foundation of athletic competition.

Cargas was the author of more than 2,500 articles and 32 books, including Conversations with Elie Wiesel. He taught courses on Kurt Vonnegut (a personal friend), Native American literature, Latin American literature, and protest literature, among others. In 1980, Cargas was appointed by President Carter to be one of the original members of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Council, which laid the groundwork for the Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C.

Cargas is the father of Sarita Cargas, associate dean of the College of Arts & Sciences. The College presents the Harry James Cargas Lecture each year in his honor.