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PRINCETON UNIVERSITY
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Date: September 9, 1999
Kathryn Taylor '74 Named Director of the Alumni Council
PRINCETON, N.J. -- M. Kathryn Taylor, a 1974 graduate of Princeton University with professional experience in the fields of banking, teaching, choral music, writing and editing, has been named Director of the Alumni Council, effective October 4. She succeeds Daniel N. White '65, who retired this summer after 19 years as director.
The Alumni Council is both a University office providing a broad range of alumni programs and services, and an organization of alumni volunteers who serve as presidents of classes and regional associations, on alumni committees, and in many other ways. The director reports to the University's Vice President for Public Affairs, Robert K. Durkee '69, who made the appointment, but is also accountable to the volunteer leadership of the Council, including its chair, vice chair, and executive committee. The current chair and vice chair, Joseph L. Serafini '64 of Wellesley Hills, Massachusetts, and Diane deCordova '83 of San Francisco, California, participated actively in the search, along with two former chairs (and current University Trustees), Brent L. Henry '69 and Richard O. Scribner '58, and several other alumni volunteers.
A member of the second Princeton undergraduate class to include women for all four years, Taylor came to Princeton as the granddaughter of a member of the Class of 1910, the daughter of a member of the Class of 1939, and following two brothers in the Classes of 1967 and 1969. An English major, she worked in the Student Agencies office for all four years, performed with the Triangle Club, and served as musical director of the a cappella singing group, the Tigerlilies.
After earning a master's degree in English Literature and teaching at the University of Pennsylvania, Taylor joined the Girard Bank in Philadelphia as an analyst in 1977. A year later she was named manager of the Commercial Credit Training Department and was sponsored by the bank to attend the Wharton Business School's two-year Graduate Management Program. After a series of promotions, in 1983 she was named a vice president of the bank and manager of one of its lending divisions where she had full responsibility for an office similar in size and scope to the Alumni Council.
In 1987, after the birth of the first of her two children, Taylor left banking and accepted a teaching position at The Baldwin School in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, where she taught senior English and, from 1989-1992, chaired the English Department. She also was elected to the school's board of trustees and served on its finance and buildings and grounds committees. In addition to teaching, she has worked as a free-lance writer and editor and has performed as a classical singer. As president of the board of trustees of the Choral Arts Society of Philadelphia, she has overseen its individual, corporate and foundation fundraising. She also has served as director of such other choral groups as the Bridge Ensemble, Pennsylvania Pro Musica and the Mendelssohn Club of Philadelphia, and of the Philadelphia Dance Alliance. As a Princeton volunteer she has held leadership positions in the Princeton Club of Philadelphia and the Class of 1974.
"Kathy Taylor brings to the Alumni Council an impressive range of successful experiences and the strongest possible endorsements from those with whom she has worked as a manager, a volunteer, and in various free-lance assignments," Durkee said. "She also brings an unusually high degree of intelligence, energy, and dedication to Princeton. By all accounts, she is a quick learner, a careful listener, and a decisive leader who works very effectively with others. She has a keen understanding of the ways in which the Alumni Council needs to change and improve so that it can better serve both the University and its alumni body, and a strong commitment to encourage as broad a range of alumni as possible to participate in the programs and services of the Council and in the ongoing life of the University."
Serafini added: "As volunteers, we were very pleased with the exceptional candidates who expressed interest in this position, and we are delighted with Kathy's appointment and her willingness to take on the important responsibilities and challenges of the director of the Alumni Council. We look forward to working with her. We are confident that she has the right skills, experiences and characteristics to help both the volunteers and the staff to clarify the mission and priorities of the Council, to carry out both established programs and exciting new initiatives with the highest possible degree of quality and effectiveness, and to engage the full diversity of the alumni body in the Council's programs and services and in its positions of volunteer leadership."
With a staff of 14, the Alumni Council provides support to alumni classes, regional associations, the various committees of the Council and other groups and activities; conducts on- and off-campus programs for alumni; offers a growing number of opportunities for alumni education; facilitates alumni participation in various forms of service to the University; provides an increasing array of electronic services to alumni; encourages active communication among alumni and between alumni and the University; involves students in alumni activities and helps prepare students for involvement as alumni; and coordinates procedures that select alumni for positions on the Board of Trustees, alumni leadership positions, and a variety of alumni awards. While not directly responsible for fundraising, the Council works closely with the development offices to coordinate policies and programs both on and off campus.