2008 Woodie Awards
Taylor eyes final year
Classics prof prepares for one last run
Bonnie Alger
Issue date: 5/26/06 Section: Features
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Dan Taylor, Hiram A. Jones Professor and Chair of the Classics Department, has been at Lawrence for what may seem like an eternity to college students.
A 1963 alumnus, Taylor has been on the faculty here since 1974. He became chair of the classics department in 1975, attained full professorship in 1988, and received the named professorship in 1991.
Taylor's initial aspiration was to be a basketball and tennis coach. Realizing that he would probably also need to teach something in order to coach, he chose Latin.
Later on he put aside coaching, deciding he'd rather just teach Latin and be a scholar.
A native of Covington, Kentucky, Taylor found Lawrence through a college ranking done by the Chicago Tribune.
Lawrence was listed among the top 10 liberal arts colleges in the country, and Taylor was looking to get out of his home state.
"I didn't know what I wanted to major in. I was interested in languages - Latin of course - but modern languages as well. English and history, geology," Taylor said.
"The only problem was I didn't have any money. Ted Roberts, director of admissions, wrote back and said, 'Don't worry; we'll find a way to give you enough financial aid.'"
Lawrence held its end of the bargain, and Taylor attended LU while working numerous jobs.
"I was a mailman six days a week. Senior year I washed dishes in the frat house. I worked summer jobs."
Taylor was able to cover half of the cost in scholarship money and working campus jobs. "I like to tell people I got through by the grace of God and good luck," he said.
After Lawrence, Taylor went on to earn a master's and doctoral degree from the University of Washington in Seattle, where he met his wife.
Upon completion of his graduate work, he accepted a professorship at the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign, where he stayed for six years.
It wasn't long before Taylor's mentor from college, Maurice Cunningham, handpicked him to be his successor in the Lawrence classics department.
A 1963 alumnus, Taylor has been on the faculty here since 1974. He became chair of the classics department in 1975, attained full professorship in 1988, and received the named professorship in 1991.
Taylor's initial aspiration was to be a basketball and tennis coach. Realizing that he would probably also need to teach something in order to coach, he chose Latin.
Later on he put aside coaching, deciding he'd rather just teach Latin and be a scholar.
A native of Covington, Kentucky, Taylor found Lawrence through a college ranking done by the Chicago Tribune.
Lawrence was listed among the top 10 liberal arts colleges in the country, and Taylor was looking to get out of his home state.
"I didn't know what I wanted to major in. I was interested in languages - Latin of course - but modern languages as well. English and history, geology," Taylor said.
"The only problem was I didn't have any money. Ted Roberts, director of admissions, wrote back and said, 'Don't worry; we'll find a way to give you enough financial aid.'"
Lawrence held its end of the bargain, and Taylor attended LU while working numerous jobs.
"I was a mailman six days a week. Senior year I washed dishes in the frat house. I worked summer jobs."
Taylor was able to cover half of the cost in scholarship money and working campus jobs. "I like to tell people I got through by the grace of God and good luck," he said.
After Lawrence, Taylor went on to earn a master's and doctoral degree from the University of Washington in Seattle, where he met his wife.
Upon completion of his graduate work, he accepted a professorship at the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign, where he stayed for six years.
It wasn't long before Taylor's mentor from college, Maurice Cunningham, handpicked him to be his successor in the Lawrence classics department.
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