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AN ALUMNA’SCALL TO LEADERSHIPby Lynn MenaJean Taylor ’85As the newly elected chair of theAugsburg Board of Regents, JeanTaylor, president of Taylor Corporation,brings to the seat not only a broad baseof knowledge and enthusiasm, but alsothe valuable perspective that comes withbeing an Augsburg alumna—anassociation that distinguishes her fromthe past several chairs, and which clearlyfills her with equal measures of pride,purpose, and calling.“I approach this opportunity not assomething that I sought, for indeed I didnot,” says Taylor, who received a B.A. inbusiness administration in 1985. “Rather,I truly believe that I was called to dothis. It will for me be a tremendouschallenge in many, many ways. At thesame time, I am convinced that it will beone of the most rewarding and enrichingthings I will ever do.“I believe that in the coming twoyears I will discover much more aboutmy own gifts, as well as how tostrengthen their use,” continues Taylor.“I am humbled to have this opportunityto return the favor to Augsburg throughmy leadership—this place has changedmy life in so many positive ways and Iwill always be indebted to this college.The history of Augsburg is rich, storied,and full of successes, and I will focus myenergy on making the next two years thebest ever in this college’s history.”Taylor, who has served on the boardsince 1994, is also co-chair of Augsburg’sCapital Campaign Cabinet, whichoversees the College’s newly announced$55 million campaign—Access toExcellence: The Campaign for AugsburgCollege. During her board tenure, shehas chaired the Marketing Committee,and served on both the Regents’ andExecutive committees. She also holds anM.B.A. in management support systemsfrom the Carlson School of Managementat the University of Minnesota, earned in1988. In addition to her boardleadership at Augsburg, she is active in anumber of other community and nonprofitorganizations—all while raising aone- and a three-year-old with herhusband, Roger Griffith ’84, who servesas chief financial officer of theMinnesota Timberwolves and chiefoperating officer of the Minnesota Lynxprofessional basketball teams.“This is a wonderful ‘fit,’ not onlyfrom my point of view, but from our—the College’s—point of view,” saysPresident William V. Frame. “HavingJean Taylor as the next chair feels right,seems right, and is right.“Jean has grown remarkably inmanagement acumen during her 10years as an Augsburg regent,” continuesFrame. “This growth was recognized byher peers as a solid supplement to hernotable collegiality and personalcommitment to her alma mater. I amvery glad of the prospect of serving withher over the next two years toaccomplish the work to which we haveagreed—to clarify and extend the Collegevision and to strengthen the integrity ofthe Augsburg brand.”SERVING THECOLLEGETaylor organizes her goals as board chairunder the framework of two distinctpaths—those that serve the College, andthose that serve the regents.“Looking at it from this perspective, Isee three critical things that the Collegeneeds from me as board chair toaccomplish over the next two years,”says Taylor.“One is to continue to extendAugsburg 2004 [the College’s visiondocument], not only in a way thatsupports the work that professors MarkEngebretson and Joan Griffin are doingin terms of refining that vision andtaking it farther into the future. But alsoin terms of taking Augsburg 2004 deeperwithin the Augsburg community, so thatas a whole we can all enjoy greaterownership and understanding of thatstrategy, and so that we’re able to sharethis strategy more broadly with ourlarger community.“When I talk about community, Ibelieve Augsburg’s community has manylayers,” continues Taylor. “There’scertainly the immediate and veryimportant campus and Cedar-Riversidecommunity that surrounds us, but there’salso the Minneapolis community, theTwin Cities community, and theMinnesota and Upper Midwestcommunity. And I think as one considersAugsburg’s vision, we really also thinkabout ourselves as part of the worldcommunity.”Taylor’s second goal is to steer thecapital campaign toward a successfulcontinued on page 9Spring/Summer 20047