Joseph T. Taylor

Joseph Thomas Taylor (February 11, 1913 – September 23, 2000) was named dean of Indiana University at the downtown Indianapolis Campus on February 24, 1967. In 1972, he became the first dean of the newly created School of Liberal Arts at Indiana University – Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI). He was married to Hertha Ward-Taylor and they had three children: deceased actor Meshach Taylor, Judith F. Taylor and Hussain Taylor.

Joseph Thomas Taylor was born in 1913 in Rolling Fork, Mississippi to Joseph and Willie Ann Taylor. He spent his youth in Memphis, Tennessee and East St. Louis, Illinois. Segregation was in effect in that region and he went to an all-black school until he attended college at Wiley College in Marshall, Texas. Where he excelled as a member of the Wiley National Championship Football Team and as a pitcher on the Baseball Team.

After transferring to the University of Illinois at Urbana, Taylor graduated with his Bachelor of Arts degree in 1936 and a Master of Arts degree in 1937. Between the years of 1939 and 1941, he was an instructor at Florida A&M University in Tallahassee. His career continued with his appointment as Area Director for the National Youth Administration from 1941 to 1942.

Taylor was not only a scholar, but also a soldier who fought for his country in World War II. His battalion was committed to combat in the European Theater of Operations and he fought at the Battle of the Bulge. During his deployment he documented many of his observations about the horrors of war and detailed his experiences with institutionalized bigotry, racism, and segregation. Soon after he was discharged from the military he married Hertha Mae Ward on February 16, 1944. Their union produced three children: Judith, Hussain, and actor Meshach Taylor (born 1947 – died 2014).

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