Terry Taylor named Acting Dean

Prof. Terry Taylor at the 2014 Commencement on June 8. 2014

Terry Taylor will take over as Acting Dean of Social Sciences, Library and Parent-Child Center starting July 1, 2014.

“Really, it should be acting acting dean because the position I’ll be in, now held by Bob Francis, is acting dean,” Taylor said. Francis will move from dean to Interim Vice President for Academic and Student Affairs, also starting on July 1.

Interim President Daryl Campbell appointed Taylor on Monday, June 9.

“I’m very pleased to have Terry in this role,” Campbell said. “He’s a respected and longtime faculty member who can bring significant knowledge, awareness and stability for a really undetermined transition period.”

All that, and Taylor has done the job before.

“I was Dean of Inter-American Studies and Social Sciences 12 year ago,” Taylor said. “This job is somewhat the same, but now includes the library and parent-child center. It’s a bigger job now.”

For his part, Francis says he’s delighted to have Taylor in the dean’s chair.

“Terry has the experience in administration and the general college,” Francs said. “It’ll make my job a lot easier.”

Taylor came to Shoreline 17 years ago to teach history and political science.  He did his graduate work in history at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and received a fellowship from the Institute of English Archival Sciences at the Newberry Library in Chicago. His undergraduate degree in history and political science is from Austin College in Sherman, Texas.  Born in Ohio, Taylor has also lived in Texas, Washington, D.C., Illinois, and Louisiana.

Before coming to Shoreline, Taylor taught at the University of Illinois, Augustana College, Rock Island, Ill., and the Louisiana School for Math Science and the Arts.

At Shoreline, he has been active in the International Studies and Honors programs in addition to his regular teaching assignments in history and political science.  He has also been the advisor for Shoreline’s Pi Iota chapter of the two year honor society, Phi Theta Kappa.

He has served chair of the Faculty Senate and on a number of standing committees including the recent presidential selection committee.

Shoreline is working its way through a number of transitions in leadership positions.

On Aug. 18, Interim President Daryl Campbell will make way for Cheryl Roberts, appointed in May by the Board of Trustees. The Vice President for Academic and Student Affairs position has been in flux for the past academic year following a resignation by James Jansen. Francis will take over in an interim role following short-term stints by first John Backes and then Alison Stevens. A search will begin this summer, with a final decision expected sometime after fall quarter starts to accommodate campus-wide participation.

It could be some months later before whoever gets the permanent VP position could start at Shoreline. Then, a similar process may be on tap for the social sciences dean job.

“Those things are down the road and really more appropriate for President Roberts to weigh in on,” Campbell said. “For now, having Terry as acting dean and Bob as interim VP puts some very good hands on the wheel for this college.”