Taylor, Phillip A., III, PhD, MBA
Biography
An unwavering commitment to student-centered education and goal-driven results mark Dr. Phillip Taylor's career as a college educator and administrator. Dr. Taylor's ability to pair his relational and inclusive leadership style with his data-driven financial analysis has manifested in curricular and cost-saving innovations backed by strong faculty support. His higher education experiences as a full professor, a Chief Operating Officer, College Dean, and research scientist reflect his people-centered and results-driven leadership.
With a dual background in academics and business management, Dr. Taylor has a unique ability to maintain an unwavering focus on academic goals and principles and simultaneously optimize institutional efficiency. His skills are underscored by a commitment to providing students with a high-quality and functional education that focuses on the whole person, while also building diverse leadership teams and earning strong faculty support.
Serving as the Dean of the College of Science and Humanities at Husson University, Dr. Taylor creates new processes that increase student choice and operating transparency while optimizing resources for reinvestment into the academic enterprise. Managing a $2M renovation of the Husson Teaching Labs, and overseeing advances in assessment and new programs in Professional Communications and Pre Medicine, combined with an innovative approach to collaborative and diverse leadership are all hallmarks of Dr. Taylor’s first year achievements at Husson University.
Prior to joining Husson University, Dr. Taylor served as the Chief Operating Officer for the College of Business at Ohio University from 2015-2020. Spanning six departments and five centers, Dr. Taylor directed all operations for the College’s buildings, personnel, administrative staff, and major projects. He enhanced the student experience and increased enrollment by restructuring the graduate programs and fostering strong international partnerships. As a result of Dr. Taylor’s innovative business services model that saved the College over $500K in operating expenses annually, he has been invited by other institutions of higher education to present and consult on this model.
Dr. Taylor’s track record in increasing diversity and inclusion is evident in his creation of a predominantly female leadership team in which he hired, mentored, and promoted women into tenure track and other leadership positions. Dr. Taylor further demonstrated his commitment to equity by assigning additional college funds to mentorship and pre-college preparatory programs for minoritized high school students, as well as to scholarships and career coaching for those who subsequently enrolled at Ohio University.
As the Dean of Science, Liberal Arts, and Business at Paul Smith's College from 2004-2015, Dr. Taylor served with unanimous faculty support in four elections over ten years. As Dean, he authored a proposal to amend the College's charter, paving the way for Paul Smith's College to offer its first Bachelor of Arts degree. Serving as co-chair of the New York State Regional Accreditation planning committee, Dr. Taylor played a key role in restructuring the general education curriculum to integrate the liberal arts and professional studies so that students gained a functional and well-rounded education. Dr. Taylor reestablished international study and travel experiences for students, and co-chaired the Self Study Steering Committee, whereby he guided the College’s Higher Education accreditation processes. During his tenure as Dean, Dr. Taylor became certified as an Accreditation Consultant for New York higher education institutions.
Before taking on the Dean's role at Paul Smith's College, Dr. Taylor served as a faculty member at Glenville State College, where he was twice promoted: first to Department Chair of Math and Science then to Chair of the Division of Arts and Sciences. In this latter role, Dr. Taylor led the division to achieve a budget surplus despite having previously operated at a loss. Most significantly, during his tenure student learning outcomes improved despite state-mandated budget reductions. In addition to fiduciary and academic successes, Dr. Taylor played a primary role in educational and programmatic improvements. He supported the development and operation of The Little Kanawha Watershed Education and Research Center, and collaborated in revitalizing campus performance and visual arts programs, including overseeing the creation of a yearly music festival. Perhaps most consequential was Dr. Taylor’s role in establishing a new degree program and new concentration options, as well as a new recognition and resource-sharing program for adjunct faculty that dramatically improved out-of-class student contact time.
While at Glenville State College, Dr. Taylor also served as the Presidential Scholars founding director. He designed the program around the honors college model, incorporating a strong community service component. His work with this program contributed to his earning both the only Presidential Award of Excellence and the only Teacher of the Year Award granted annually. The Student Government also acknowledged his moral character with the Student Government Award for Integrity. In the College’s history, no other faculty has won all three of these awards, which Dr. Taylor achieved in his first year of eligibility.
Dr. Taylor launched his career in higher education by earning a Ph.D. in Molecular and Cellular Biology and an M.B.A. in Business Administration from Ohio University, where he focused his studies on effective management practices for creative and technical professionals. Prior to his advanced degrees, he earned both a Master's degree in Biology and a Bachelor of Arts degrees in Chemistry and Biochemistry from East Stroudsburg University.
Dr. Taylor demonstrates an on-going commitment to both professional learning and service. He has served as a Higher Education Accreditor for the State of Ohio and as a founding member of the state’s Competency-Based Education Board. As a driver of educational best practice at both the institutional and state level, Dr. Taylor helped to write Ohio’s guide to Competency-Based Education (CBE), educating the state Board of Education on the opportunities and challenges of implementing CBE within the state’s educational institutions. Dr. Taylor is a Certified University Planner through the Society for College and University Planning and has served as a reviewer with the Middle States Regional Commission on Higher Education. His professional development includes Harvard University’s Management Development program and Cornell University’s programs for Proactive Leadership in Higher Education, Diversity and Inclusion, and Hiring a Diverse Workforce.
Dr. Taylor’s ability to bring about complex change in a thoughtful manner, to implement solutions, and to establish best practices tailored to the unique needs of the institution has impacted student learning and organizational vitality throughout his career. Forging partnerships with local businesses and organizations has led to the creation of mutually beneficial programs and internship opportunities for students regardless of which institution he serves. When not on campus, Phil can be found participating in restorative justice and neurodiversity education, community outreach programming, or in the Maine countryside developing his small off-grid organic farm with his two sons.