Contact Information
Office Hours
Biography
Cyrus Murray (he/him), is a PhD student in English, Writing Studies, and a Teaching Assistant in the Department of English at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where he teaches first-year and advanced composition courses. He holds an MA in English, Writing Studies (2026) and a BA in English, Secondary Education (2024), both from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Murray brings a background in secondary education to his work in college composition, having taught high school English and holding a Professional Educator's License (PEL) in Secondary Education.
Research Interests
K-12 Education, Teacher Training, Digital Rhetoric, Debate Culture, Content Creation
Research Description
Cyrus Murray's current research focuses on the impact non-institutional figures have on political discourse through the creation of digital content. Murray has previously written and presented works related to issues in education including generative AI illiteracy, and the impact of the Healthy Eating Index (HEI) on K-12 learning.
Education
BA English, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2024
MA English, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2024
Awards and Honors
- Rhetoric Program Award for Teaching Excellence for a Graduate Teaching Assistant
List of Teachers Ranked as Excellent By Their Students, FA24, SP25
Courses Taught
Rhetoric 105: Research and Writing
Rhetoric 233: Advanced Rhetoric & Composition
Recent Publications
Conference Papers and Workshops
- “The Lie of HEI” Gesa E. Kirsch Graduate Student Symposium, The Center for Writing Studies, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, April 23-24, 2026.
- “The Need for Generative AI Writing Literacy” Gesa E. Kirsch Graduate Student Symposium, The Center for Writing Studies, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, April 24-25, 2025.