Faculty Spotlight: Morris Taylor, PhD
This past October, Morris Taylor, PhD, was appointed the Vice Chancellor for Administration (VCA) at SIUE. Dr. Taylor succeeds Rich Walker, who retired at the end of September. They had the opportunity to work together for two weeks during the transitions.
Before taking on this new position, Dr. Taylor chaired the SIUE Department of Public Administration and Policy Analysis for six years. Dr. Taylor has been an SIUE faculty member since 1997 and brings 22 years of experience in higher education to the position. At SIUE, he has taught courses in public management, policy analysis, public law, program evaluation, ethics, homeland security and public safety. He is an editor for the Journal of Public Management and Social Policy.
During his SIUE tenure, Dr. Taylor has been extensively involved in campus leadership. He has served as the chair of various committees, including the Planning Budgeting Council (UPBC), Faculty Senate Rules and Procedures Committee, College of Arts and Sciences Academic Policies and Curriculum Committee, and the Thesis Committee. He has also served on the Chancellor’s Council, University Leadership Team, Enrollment Management Council, Extended Chancellor’s Council University Quality Council, Provost’s Space Committee, Teaching Excellence Award Committee, Graduate Council Program Committee, and Graduate Studies and Research Committee.
Prior to joining SIUE, Dr. Taylor was an administrator with the Social Security Administration in St. Louis. He was a police officer for both St. Louis City and St. Louis County during the 1970s. He was also a senior attorney negotiator for State Farm Insurance Co. from 2004-2005. In addition, he served as the Ira Glasser Racial Justice Fellow for the American Civil Liberties Union of Eastern Missouri.
Dr. Taylor’s public and community service include being a member of the United States Attorneys’ Hate Crime Task Force for Eastern Missouri, the board of directors for St. Louis Area Regional Response System (STARRS), the Southwestern Illinois City Manager Association (SWICMA), the ACLU of Eastern Missouri, and variety of other public policy-focused organizations.
Dr. Taylor earned a bachelor’s in liberal studies from Saint Louis University (SLU) in 1985 with a specialization in organizational development. He earned a master’s in public administration from SIUE in 1992 and doctorate in public policy analysis with a specialization in social jurisprudence from SLU in 2000.
