For Dr. Jacqueline Taylor, serving as Southwest Tennessee Community College’s first chief strategy officer and chief of staff means coming back to the future.
Taylor served as associate vice president for Retention and Student Success at Southwest (2016-21) before her recent stint as a leadership, teaching and learning and equity coach for Achieving the Dream, a national network of more than 300 institutions of higher education.
She stepped into her new role at Southwest on Sept. 19.
Reporting directly to Southwest President Dr. Tracy D. Hall, Taylor is charged with setting the strategic vision for Southwest and helping the College “better serve students, faculty, staff, and the community through thought leadership, continuous improvement, innovation and the implementation of Southwest’s strategic plan.”
“We are elated to have Dr. Taylor back at Southwest,” said Dr. Hall. “She made an impressive impact as associate vice president for Retention and Student Success before joining ATD (Achieving the Dream) as a leadership coach.
“I am confident her talent with data analysis, operations management, leadership development, and strategic planning and implementation will be a welcome addition to our leadership team to help move the college beyond recovery from the pandemic to what’s next in our evolution as one of the leading drivers of workforce and economic development in the Mid-South.”
Taylor has 30-plus years of experience in executive, equity and justice leadership; strategic planning, faculty teaching, workforce development; and retention and student success.
“I am truly excited and honored to return to Southwest,” Taylor said. “Southwest is the community’s college and is uniquely positioned to enhance the quality of life for our students by providing equitable access to an affordable, quality education.”
Ahead, said Taylor, is a welcomed opportunity to “help nurture a culture of excellence and belonging at Southwest that fosters even greater levels of success for our deserving students and professional educators.”
Her new role calls for Taylor to “work with key partners throughout the community to remove barriers to college and increase Southwest’s capacity to serve well and achieve a positive impact for the long-term.”
Taylor earned a bachelor’s degree in English, a master’s in education and a doctorate in educational leadership with an emphasis in higher education administration from Union University in Jackson, TN.
(For more information, visit www.southwest.tn.edu. Follow Southwest at Facebook.com/southwesttn, Twitter.com/southwesttn and Instagram.com/southwesttn.)
