Emily Robinson Hilliard was born in Vienna, Austria, the daughter of Charles Robonson and Sabine Antoinette. She married Albert Hilliard in Reno in 1933. She obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree in language and literature from the University of Nevada in 1946. She was a member of the Nevada Artists' Association and exhibited her oil and pastel portraits in northern Nevada. A short story writer and guest newspaper columnist, she was a state president of the National Pen Women and the Reno Pen Women. She served as a member of the Washoe Library Board of Trustees. She was also a life member of the Friends of the University of Nevada Library and Friends of the Washoe County Library. Emily Hilliard is listed as a Silver Benefactor in the Honor Court at the University of Nevada, Reno campus. She died in Reno on August 27, 1970.
Albert E. Hilliard was born in Missouri, earned his bachelor's degree from the University of Iowa, and obtained his law degree from George Washington Law School. He was a Reno lawyer for thirty years, serving as President of the Washoe County Bar Association in 1943. In 1945, he was appointed to a standing committee for cooperation between the University and the Washoe County Bar Associaion. He was active in the Washoe County Democratic Club and had the endorsement of President Franklin D. Roosevelt during his unsuccessful bid for the U. S. Senate in 1938, running against the incumbent Senator Patrick McCarran. Hilliard was elected to the University of Nevada System Board of Regents in 1946 and served until 1950. He was a member of the Sons of the American Revolution, the Scottish Rite Bodies of Nevada, the Kerak Temple of the Shrine, the Reno Elks Lodge, and the Reno Lions Club. Hilliard died in Reno on November 6, 1961. A portion of the UNR Physical Sciences Complex was named the Albert Hilliard Memorial Plaza in May of 1970. A portrait of Hilliard by Hans Mayer-Kassel was presented to the University in December 1971 to hang in the Chemistry Building.
Through a bequest from Emily Hilliard's estate, the Albert and Emily Hilliard Chair in the Humanities endowment was established in 1972, under the auspices of the College of Arts and Science. The Dean of the College functioned as the financial officer for the endowment. The endowment was to provide a chair whose occupant would be the Hilliard Distinguished Professor of the Humanities. The chair was set up as an in-residency program with the understanding that it would be filled as funds permit and appropriate projects become available. Emeritus Professor of English Charlton Laird was appointed as the first incumbent of the Chair for Distinguished Professor in the Humanities for 1972-73. The Hilliard Fund is supervised by the Hilliard Committee, a group of faculty and members of the community appointed annually by the President of the University. In June 2003, the Nevada System of Higher Education's Board of Regents approved a reorganization of the University of Nevada, Reno, which led to the establishment of the College of Liberal Arts. The College of Liberal Arts Hilliard Endowment in the Humanties provides support to bring scholars in the humanities and related fields to campus for public appearances. The College occasionally partners with other humanities organizations in the region to bring speakers to Reno.
From the description of Hilliard Endowment Records, 1971- (University of Nevada, Reno). WorldCat record id: 745459256
