Kansas University issued this press release today:John S. Brushwood, professor emeritus of Latin American literature at the University of Kansas, died May 27 at Lawrence Presbyterian Manor. He was 87.Brushwood joined the KU faculty in 1967 and was considered one of the most important U.S. scholars of Latin American literature.He received awards from several scholarly foundations, held a Fulbright lectureship in Colombia, spent two periods of residence at the Bellagio Study and Conference Center and was elected as a member of the Academia Mexicana in 1997. He won KU’s prestigious Balfour Jeffrey Award in 1982. He retired in 1990.Brushwood held degrees from Randolph-Macon College, the University of Virginia, Columbia University and an honorary Doctor of Letters degree from Randolph-Macon. He was the author of numerous books about Mexican literature and Latin American Literature.Vicky Unruh, professor and chair of the Department of Spanish and Portuguese, said Brushwood’s influence is still evident in the department and throughout the university.”In addition to his international scholarly distinction and his generosity as a teacher-mentor that endured long after his retirement, John was a founding member of the faculty generation that gave our department its ethos and tradition of collegial teamwork,” she said. “We cherish this humbling legacy, and we will miss him dearly.”Chancellor Robert Hemenway issued the following statement.”John Brushwood will be remembered as one of the great scholars of Latin American literature. On Mount Oread, he enjoyed tremendous respect from colleagues across the disciplines. Many will remember John along with his wife, Carolyn, for their passionate support of the arts and humanities at KU.”