G. Don Taylor to become vice provost for learning systems innovation and effectiveness
G. Don Taylor, Charles O. Gordon Professor of Industrial and Systems Engineering and interim dean of the College of Engineering at Virginia Tech, will become the university’s first vice provost for learning systems innovation and effectiveness upon the completion of his role as interim dean July 31.
Working collaboratively with the colleges and other university organizations, Taylor will oversee efforts to connect undergraduate and graduate student success with external organizations and employers and develop new and innovative ways to deliver curriculum across all university units.
“As interim dean, Don demonstrated his ability to lead a large organization effectively, and in this new role, he’ll have the ability to reach across all colleges and units to develop and manage institutional infrastructure and strategies for efficient, multimodal, customized, multisite, adaptive curriculum delivery,” said Executive Vice President and Provost Thanassis Rikakis.
“In addition, he will help us create new paths and new ways for our students to find their connection after graduation in the world by working with existing structures, such as internships, service projects, summer and winter sessions, career placement services, and the new business engagement center.”
“The new position provides an exciting opportunity for me to be involved across campus in activities that are critical to student success,” said Taylor. “I am particularly interested in working with other campus leaders to evolve and modernize our curricula and to better connect Virginia Tech students to the professional world that they will encounter upon graduation. This is an exciting time at Virginia Tech, and my new position will enable me to better serve the institution during our ongoing transformation.”
A member of the Virginia Tech faculty since 2004, Taylor’s scholarship has focused on the simulation and optimization of complex systems and the logistics of material flow and freight transportation.
While Taylor was head of the Grado Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering from 2004 to 2016, the department twice received a University Exemplary Department Award; in 2007 for the development and execution of innovative and effective approaches to advising its undergraduate and graduate students and again in 2012 for effectively linking assessment with instruction in order to improve student learning.
He is a Fellow and president emeritus of the Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineers (IISE). He chairs the board of IISE Solutions Inc. and is a Fellow of the World Academy of Productivity Science.
Taylor is a member of the American Society for Engineering Education, Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences, and the International Council on Systems Engineering.
Before coming to Virginia Tech, Taylor held the Mary Lee and George F. Duthie Endowed Chair in Engineering Logistics and was the director of the Center for Engineering Logistics and Distribution at Kentucky's University of Louisville.
He received his bachelor's degree and master’s degree from the University of Texas at Arlington and a Ph.D. in industrial engineering and operations research from the University of Massachusetts.
