The National Communication Association has established the Orlando L. Taylor Distinguished Scholarship Award in Africana Communication. Orlando Taylor is vice president for strategic initiatives and research/director of the Institute for Social Innovation at Fielding Graduate University in Santa Barbara, California. He is the former president of the National Communication Association and was the first African American to serve in that position.
Before coming to Fielding Graduate University in 2014, Dr. Taylor was the founding president of the Washington, D.C., campus of the Chicago School of Professional Psychology. Earlier, Dr. Taylor spent more than 30 years as a faculty member and administrator at Howard University in Washington, D.C. At Howard, Dr. Taylor served as professor of communications, vice provost for research, and dean of the Graduate School.
Dr. Taylor is a graduate of Hampton University in Virginia. He earned a master’s degree at Indiana University and a Ph.D. from the University of Michigan.
