TO OUR EARS

A WORKOF ARTLongtime professor Taylor shaped manylives before untimely deathBy Ernie W. Webb III • ernie.webb@washburn.eduGlenda Taylor dedicated much of her life toart and shaping the minds of thousands ofstudents at Washburn, molding a masterpieceof a career as a professor and chairwoman.A fixture at Washburn since 1987, Taylor died June 7after a biking accident in southeast Kansas. She was 60years old.The beloved professor was honored June 12 duringa ceremony at Lee Arena. Hundreds of friends, family,community members and students viewed photos ofTaylor, her artwork, cycling gear and other items.“She always put students and faculty first. Shewas fair, very compassionate, willing to make harddecisions, wise and forward-thinking, creativeand positive in searching for solutions,” said LauraStephenson, dean, College of Arts and Sciences, andone of several speakers at the ceremony. “She was allthese things in the context of her energetic, friendly,forthright and down-to-earth personality. She was a joyto be around. I admired her greatly.”Taylor was born on June 24, 1954, in Chapman,Kansas, to Gordon and Joyce Taylor. As a child, she43 In Memorymolded her first pieces of artwork from clay on herfamily’s land. Taylor later graduated from ChapmanHigh School and received a bachelor of arts fromBethany College, master of arts from Emporia StateUniversity and master of fine arts from Kansas StateUniversity.She began her career in higher education as a lecturerat Bethany in 1982 and taught at Barton CountyCommunity College from 1984 to 1987. Taylor spentthe next 28 years at Washburn and was chairwoman for17 years, including during the construction of the ArtBuilding, which opened in 2005.“Some of my earliest memories of working with herinvolved discussing, planning and seeing the new artbuilding through until its completion,” said Jerry Farley,president, Washburn. “She was very proud of thatachievement, which she should have been. When weencountered difficulties on the project, she was alwaysthe driving force behind some creative solution to solvethat problem.”Taylor taught numerous courses at Washburn,including ceramics, sculpture and art education.