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Kathryn Taylor to direct Alumni Council
Kathryn Taylor has been named director of the Alumni
Council, as of October 4.
A member of the Class of 1974, she has professional
experience in banking, teaching, choral music, writing and
editing. She succeeds Daniel 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 Durkee '69, who
made the appointment, but is also accountable to the
volunteer leadership of the council. The current chair and
vice chair, Joseph Serafini '64 of Wellesley Hills, Mass.,
and Diane deCordova '83 of San Francisco, Calif.,
participated actively in the search, along with two former
chairs (and current trustees), Brent Henry '69 and Richard
Scribner '58, and other alumni volunteers.
Granddaughter, daughter, sister
Taylor, a member of the second Princeton undergraduate
class to include women for all four years, came to the
University as the granddaughter of a member of the Class of
1910, 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,
performed with the Triangle Club and was musical director of
the Tigerlilies.
After earning a master's degree in English 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. 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 accepted a teaching position at the Baldwin
School in Bryn Mawr, Pa., where she taught senior English,
chaired the department and served as a trustee. She has also
worked as a freelance writer and editor and performed as a
classical singer. As president of the board of trustees of
the Choral Arts Society of Philadelphia, she has overseen
its fundraising, and she has also been director of several
choral groups and the Philadelphia Dance Alliance. As a
Princeton volunteer she has held leadership positions in the
Princeton Club of Philadelphia and her class.
Impressive range of experiences
"Kathy Taylor brings to the Alumni Council an impressive
range of successful experiences as a manager, a volunteer
and in freelance assignments," said Durkee. "She also brings
an unusually high degree of intelligence, energy and
dedication. 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 the ongoing life of the
University."
Serafini added, "As volunteers, we are delighted with
Kathy's appointment and her willingness to take on the
responsibilities and challenges of the director of the
Alumni Council. We are confident that she has the right
skills, experiences and characteristics to help both the
volunteers and the staff clarify the mission and priorities
of the council, carry out established programs and exciting
new initiatives, and engage the full diversity of the alumni
body in the council's programs and services and its
volunteer leadership."
Staff of 14
With a staff of 14, the Alumni Council provides support
to alumni classes, regional associations, the committees of
the council and other groups and activities, and conducts
programs for alumni on and off campus. It offers a growing
number of opportunities for alumni education, facilitates
alumni participation in various forms of service to the
University and provides an increasing array of electronic
services to alumni.
The council encourages active communication among alumni
and between alumni and the University; involves students in
alumni activities and helps prepare them for involvement as
alumni; and coordinates procedures that select alumni for
positions on the board of trustees, alumni leadership
positions and 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.
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