William Masterson

William Francis Masterson, SJ (December 17, 1910 – September 5, 1984) was an American Jesuit priest who became an educational leader in the Philippines.

Early life Masterson was born on December 17, 1910, in Brooklyn, the son of physician John J. Masterson, who later became president of the Medical Society of the State of New York. Under his leadership, the university re-opened its law school, opened a new graduate school and Institute of Social Action,

Facing a backlash for this move, he was sent away from Ateneo and Manila to Cagayan de Oro, and founded the Southeast Asia Rural Social Leadership Institute in 1964.

Recognition In 1967, Ateneo de Manila gave Masterson an honorary doctorate. He was awarded the Ramon Magsaysay Award for International Understanding in 1974, in recognition of "his multinational education and inspiration of rural leaders prompting their return to and love of the land".

The Cagayan de Oro Airport-Bukidnon Highway was renamed as Masterson Avenue in his honor, and the Fr. William F. Masterson SJ Elementary School in Cagayan de Oro, located on this avenue, was also renamed in his honor in 2013. The main road of Ateneo de Manila is named Father Masterson Drive.

In 2009, he was featured on a commemorative sheet of Philippine postage stamps, celebrating the sesquicentennial of Ateneo de Manila University.

In 2015, The Xavier University Press published a book of essays inspired by Masterson's life, Fr. William F. Masterson, S.J.: The Story of a Brooklyn Jesuit Missionary and the Xavier U. Aggies.