David Taylor has been newly named Dean of the Jack Welch College of Business and Technology (WCBT).
“I came here for a visit, and I just loved the people, and I loved the environment. And I just loved the Sacred Heart vibe,” said Taylor.
His time at Sacred Heart began in the fall of 2010 as an Assistant Professor of Marketing.
David Taylor has taken on the position of Dean of the Jack Welch College of Business and Technology after previously serving as Associate Dean.
Source: Emma Turner, Staff Photographer
“It’s sort of like a student when you come to visit a university– it’s the same thing, you’re looking for someplace you’d fit in,” Taylor
said.
Taylor has worked his way up from professor to Department Chair to Associate Dean.
“I’ve seen the university grow from about 4,000 students to where we are now, I think we had 30 faculty, now we have 65. I feel like I’ve grown up with the university to some extent,” said Taylor.
He also ran SHU’s former Luxembourg campus for the past five years. Taylor remembers his time in Luxembourg very fondly. His favorite part was “spending time with students, watching them explore and learn about other cultures.”
Mia Cirillo, a senior studying marketing and management in the WCBT, had this experience with Taylor. “I had the pleasure of having Dean David Taylor while studying abroad in Luxembourg. His Marketing in Europe course was very enlightening as he provided my classmates and I an intercultural understanding of Europe,” said Cirillo.
Due to this time with him, Cirillo was hopeful when she heard of his new position.
“Once I heard he was promoted to full time dean, I was excited as I knew he would be as passionate as he was while teaching students,” said Cirillo.
Moving forward, Taylor is excited to be the face of the WCBT at Sacred Heart at events with other universities.
“[Part of] my job is to represent the college at external events; I’m the cheerleader, I’m the advocate, the salesperson,” Taylor said.
“My colleagues who come here for conferences say, ‘I’ve been to your campus, and it’s amazing.’ It’s not an exaggeration to say that the building has been a big part of our growth as a university and as a College of Business and Technology,” said Taylor.
However, there have also been some challenges the business school has had to face throughout this experience.
Since Taylor took the position full-time, he hopes to facilitate a smooth adjustment for faculty and students.
“It’s been a really easy transition; I think for everyone. Because normally if you have a new dean that comes in that’s completely new, they have to get to know the university, the students, the faculty, and the culture,” Taylor said. “I’ve been around, so I know the students, the faculty- and they know me.”
He also wants to work to increase the technology aspect of the Jack Welch College of Business and Technology. The School of Computer Science and Engineering has had engineering programs in place for the past five years.
“Business students can expect to see a lot more technology, and vice
versa- the computer science and engineering students will have the opportunity to be more involved in the business of things,” said Taylor.
He is excited to encourage students to be more involved in programs Sacred Heart offers, as well as seeing where the school can improve going into this next phase of business technology.
