Bob Pepperman Taylor, professor in the Department of Political Science and founding dean of the Honors College at the University of Vermont, has been named winner of the 2016 George V. Kidder Outstanding Faculty Award by the UVM Alumni Association.
The award, given annually since 1974, honors full-time faculty for excellence in teaching and advising, for their ability to inspire students and have a lasting influence on their lives and for their positive impact on campus life beyond the classroom. Dozens of faculty, alumni and students wrote in support of Taylor.
"I consider it one of the greatest pieces of good fortune in my life that I wound up with Bob Taylor as my colleague in academic life," wrote one of his peers. "He has been a wonderful example, a great model, and the embodiment of what a teacher and scholar should be."
A former student wrote, "In addition to guiding many of my most important career choices, Professor Taylor has profoundly shaped the person I have become and the work I choose to do."
Another faculty colleague said, "Bob builds such transformational relationships with each student he encounters. As a result, he has helped build a more invested and engaged student body at UVM."
And a former student remembers him as "one of those people who once they support you, that support comes with a lifetime warranty."
Bob Pepperman Taylor earned his B.A. magna cum laude from Wesleyan University and his M.A., M.Phil. and Ph.D. from Rutgers University.
He came to the University of Vermont in 1986 as visiting assistant professor in the Department of Political Science, rising through the academic ranks to become a full professor in 2002. He teaches courses in political theory, history of political thought, and environmental ethics. He is the author of five books in these fields and has published numerous articles in top academic journals.
He served as director of UVM's John Dewey Honors Program from 1999 to 2003 and was the first dean of the university's Honors College, from 2003 to 2007. He was honors coordinator for the College of Arts and Sciences from 2008 to 2012.
Taylor was a University of Vermont Bicentennial Fellow from 1988 to 1991. He was awarded a National Endowment for the Humanities Fellowship in 2001 and was honored with the University of Vermont Kroepsch-Maurice Teaching Award in 1995. He was selected by a faculty panel as a University Scholar for 2016-2017, an honor that recognizes distinguished UVM faculty members for sustained excellence in research, creative, and scholarly activities.
He is a member of Alpha Sigma Lambda, the Golden Key Honors Society, the National Society of Collegiate Scholars and Pi Sigma Alpha.
The George V. Kidder Outstanding Faculty Award is named in honor of the late Dean Emeritus George V. Kidder '22, who served the University of Vermont for more than 70 years.
About the UVM Alumni Association
The UVM Alumni Association fosters lifelong relationships among a vibrant, global and diverse community engaged by a common desire to preserve, celebrate and enhance the University of Vermont and to enrich the lives of its 110,000 members worldwide. For more information visit alumni.uvm.edu.