His first official day on the job is several months away, but the Chancellor and Provost were eager to introduce new dean designate Mark Taylor to faculty and staff during his visit to campus this week. Taylor, who is currently dean at Warwick Business School was welcomed at a reception in the Frick Forum on June 6.

In brief remarks at the gathering, Taylor said WashU’s collegiate Gothic architecture made him feel a bit at home with its references to the great halls of his alma mater, Oxford University. He acknowledged Dean Gupta’s achievement of establishing a strong “platform upon which we can build.”

Taylor takes office Dec. 1, 2016. Kurt T. Dirks, senior associate dean and the Bank of America Professor of Managerial Leadership at Olin, will serve as interim dean from July 1 through November. Related post.

In addition to being one of the most cited researchers in the areas of economics and finance, Taylor’s career has included positions at Citibank, the International Monetary Fund, and BlackRock. In addition to his academic honors and numerous degrees in social sciences, he holds a Master’s degree in English literature with a focus on Shakespeare.

Taylor said he welcomes the opportunity and challenge to lead Olin. As he prepares to take the helm of the business school and steer it successfully into its second century, he cited these lines from the bard to conclude his remarks:

There is a tide in the affairs of men,
Which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune;
Omitted, all the voyage of their life
Is bound in shallows and in miseries
On such a full sea are we now afloat,
And we must take the current when it serves
Or lose our ventures.
Julius Caesar, Act 4, Scene 3

Reception welcoming new dean Mark Taylor:

Click on thumbnail to expand image. Photos by Sid Hastings, WUSTL Photo Services.