Roger Taylor

Roger Taylor was the 18th president of Knox College, serving from September 2001 until June 2011. He is married to Anne "Bunny" Taylor.

History

Roger Taylor is a Knox College graduate from 1963, and he mentions this fact often. He joined the Knox Board of Trustees in 1983 and served as board chair from 1999 - 2001. In February 2002, Roger Taylor was named president of Knox College after six months as interim president. He was formally installed on October 11, 2002. Since then, he has endeavored to chart a course towards financial impregnability. Roger announced plans to retire on April 5, 2010.

If asked, he will also tell you how he met his wife. The story includes props, like the framed piece of paper he has in his office.

He usually asks you to call him Roger. None of this Mr. President business. It's just Roger.

Hot President

In 2006, Roger Taylor was named one of the nation's ten "Most Attractive College Presidents," by "The Insider's Guide to the Colleges"[1]. Roger was willing to pose for a photo shoot with Andy Fitz to commemorate the event.

ACI President

Roger Taylor was elected president of the Associated Colleges of Illinois, succeeding Richard F. Giese, the former president of Monmouth College. (further information: "Taylor to Lead ACI")

Facebook Groups

Roger's fame and glory have been propagated through several Facebook groups. Some of the more popular ones have included:

• Church of Roger Taylor
• Roger Taylor: Emperor of Rome
• Roger Taylor for President of the Universe

However the combined membership of these pro-Taylor groups have been eclipsed by a more recent anti-Taylor group:

• Roger Taylor Hates Fun.

Roger Taylor Memorial Lounge

In 2003, the basement lounge area in Neifert Hall was dedicated as the "The Roger Taylor Lounge". A pool table and foosball table were permanently installed there. Roger was not in attendance. In 2011, the Seymour Student Lounge was christened The Roger Taylor Lounge. Within minutes it was re-christened the Rog Lodge, the Rog Mahal, and the Jolly Roger.

Departure

On April 5th, 2010, Roger announced in a campus-wide e-mail his intention to resign as President of the College by the end of the 2011-12 year. It is speculated that he had begun to tire of his position after the controversies and debacles surrounding the 2007-08 school year, and that with the continuing fallout and the new developments over the following years, he finally decided to take his ludicrous amounts of law firm partner money and go spray for frogs around his farmhouse.

The campus-wide e-mail is reproduced below:

To the Students of Knox College,

For close to nine years, it has been a privilege for Anne and me to serve the students of Knox College. Now it is time for the College to prepare for a new president.

Now it is time to prepare for the future.

The trustees have approved a strategic planning calendar. That calendar places initial responsibility on the Institutional Planning Group for leading the campus work on the development of a new strategic plan for the future.

The trustees will be holding a retreat at the end of this month in Chicago. Their retreat agenda includes consideration of the trustees’ aspirations for Knox’s future -- and how they will lead the effort to secure the resources necessary to achieve those aspirations.

During the 2011-2012 academic year -- Knox will celebrate the 175th anniversary of its founding.

Time for a new president

All of these factors, as well as factors personal to Anne and me, have led Anne and me to the conclusion that it is time for the College to find the next president. I have told the trustees that I will continue for the next academic year, if they believe that would be helpful.

That schedule would give the College ample time for a search for a new president.

That schedule also will enable the next president to use 2011-2012 -- the year of the celebration of Knox’s 175th anniversary as a platform for launching his or her service to the College.

I am letting you know now, rather than waiting until after Commencement, for a couple of reasons. First, in discussions about transition, the trustees have asked me to give them as much advance notice as possible.

And it was important to let the trustees know that it was time for a new president well in advance of their retreat -- So they could factor that into both their planning for the retreat and discussions during the retreat.

Having told the trustees, it now is appropriate for me to tell the students.

Search Committee

The trustees are organizing a search committee, so that the search for the next president can begin promptly. Trustee Richard Riddell ’72 will chair the search committee. More details about the search will be communicated to students soon.

It is my privilege

It is a privilege to serve as Knox’s president. I have often said that it is a special privilege for me -- Individuals with my education and background rarely are selected for these jobs.

It is even more of a privilege to serve as the president of my alma mater.

As some of you know, Knox has called only three of its graduates to serve as president. It always has delighted me that two of them were born and raised on farms -- on the flatlands of Illinois where the prairies used to flourish: John Finley from LaSalle County; Albert Britt from Warren County. The third was born and raised on a farm in the timber soil hills and hollers of Spoon River Country -- in Fulton County. And now it is time for Anne and me to plan our return to those hills and hollers . And make way for the next person to be given the privilege to serve.

Thank You

There is not space on the Knox.edu server for me to list all ways in which Knox students have enriched our lives. We have met many of you when you were high school students engaged in the college search. We have attended your performances and athletic events. We have been present for your academic presentations. We have eaten with you in the caf. We will miss all of that.

You have heard me talk many times about Institutional Self-Confidence. Now is a time for confidence. Knox is a great college. It has issues to work on, and we will work on them together in the time I have remaining as your president.

Knox will conduct the search for a new president with the confidence that has guided us in the past.

Roger

Goodbye forever, Rog. May God have mercy on your soul.

Links

Biography page at Knox.edu