Dean and professor of economics for the Brock School of Business at Samford University (Birmingham, Ala.) and as associate dean for research and faculty development for the Hankamer School of Business at Baylor University.

Beck A. Taylor, Ph.D., became the 18th president of Whitworth University (Spokane, Wash.) in July 2010. He came to Whitworth after serving as dean and professor of economics for the Brock School of Business at Samford University (Birmingham, Ala.) and as associate dean for research and faculty development for the Hankamer School of Business at Baylor University (Waco, Texas), where he was also the W.H. Smith Professor of Economics. In his first year as Whitworth's president, Taylor led the development of Whitworth's 10-year vision and strategic plan, Whitworth 2021: Courage at the Crossroads, which details plans to continue to elevate Whitworth among the leading Christian universities in the country. Taylor's first five years at Whitworth have been highlighted by a renewed emphasis on community involvement; efforts to improve academic quality, including the creation of the College of Arts and Sciences and a new honors program; the building of new campus infrastructure to facilitate the university's academic and student life programs; the creation of five new endowed faculty positions; spearheading Whitworth's largest comprehensive fundraising campaign; and an emphasis on overall institutional effectiveness.

After earning his undergraduate degree from Baylor with majors in economics and finance, Taylor was employed as an analyst for Andersen Consulting (now Accenture) in Houston, Texas. He went on to earn the M.S. and Ph.D. in economics from Purdue University (West Lafayette, Ind.). After returning to the Baylor faculty, Taylor received the Young Researcher Award from the Hankamer School of Business in 2000 and subsequently was named the first holder of the W.H. Smith Professorship in Economics. In 2002, he was appointed as a visiting scholar by Harvard University (Cambridge, Mass.) where he spent one year in residence at the Harvard Graduate School of Education pursuing research interests. In 2005, Taylor was named a Baylor University Outstanding Professor for his research accomplishments.

Labour Economics, Human Resources, Economics and Statistics.