BREAKING NEWS:

On Friday, Aug. 26, Gannon University President Keith Taylor, Ph.D. announced that he will be stepping down as president effective June 2023.

President Taylor served the Gannon community for 18 years — he spent six as provost and 12 as president.

This decision was not impromptu – Taylor knew it was coming.

“I had signed an agreement several years ago that laid out what I thought was a reasonable plan for me, my family and the university,” Taylor said. “So, this has been kind of been coming along and I had intended on it, knowing the age of my children, and where I would be in my own life. It’s not like something happened or it was just run out of gas, because I’m still going to be working here for many years to come.”

During his time at Gannon, Taylor has learned in many areas.

“I think I’ve grown to be a little more culturally aware, more sensitive to the needs and the challenges that students have, that humans have, whether that’s through their day to day in poverty, their day-to-day mental health issues, whatever those challenges and struggles that people have,” Taylor said. “Though since I’ve been here, I’ve been to about 40 countries and six of the seven continents and I have seen a lot of things in a lot of places and learned a lot about people, and the more you open yourself up to learn about who other people are the more I think you learn about who you are.”

Discussing how the students, faculty and staff helped impact his Presidency, he said:

Taylor said some of the most impactful experiences he has had during his time at Gannon have been the times where he was able to see students grow firsthand.

“The change that happens is just so dramatic over that four- or five-year period and to see that transformation just has a huge impact on helping me get out of bed every morning — helping me come in to know that we’ve got work to do to create an environment that really is one that the students will flourish in,” Taylor said. “We all know that the reason why we’re here is to make sure that the students have a positive experience — which doesn’t mean that every day is easy for them or for us, but it does mean that every day if they’ve got an open mind and an open heart, they’ve got an opportunity to change.”

Taylor has also seen some of the most important moments in students’ and their families’ lives firsthand.

“We’ve been through deaths of students, we’ve been through the joy of convocation, we’ve been through move-in and the tears of parents and students when they get left and they’re not sure what’s next, to graduation,” Taylor said. “I think that one of the privileges of being the university president is that you’re at the huge points in people’s lives — the day they get dropped off, the day they get picked up, the day of graduation, the day they pass their license or entrance exams and call you the day they get their first job. You really are there for those big moments in people’s lives and a lot of people don’t get to be in the big moments of thousands of people’s lives.”

Even though his time as president will be over, Taylor will continue working at Gannon. His role has not yet been decided by the Board of Trustees.

“This is an awesome job, it’s a full day’s effort, every day, and I will continue to give that effort certainly through June 30^th and in the work, I am doing after that,” Taylor said. “It’s time to let someone else in and see what they can do with it. It has been a good ride and a long ride.”

CHARLIZE HARDING

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