Thanks to Bill Taylor: A personal reflection

I write to pay tribute to my colleague and friend Bill Taylor, who managed as department chair of Fisheries and Wildlife (FW) to create a department full of diverse, exceptional, and warm faculty, staff, and students where I had the pleasure of working for 24 years. Because of him, I spent those years working in a great collegiate environment. With his assistance and ongoing support, I was able to grow my career in ways I could not have imagined.I will begin by saying I am not a biologist. I am not a hard scientist. When I first met Bill, I was working in Michigan State University's Business School, where I was teaching business law and working as an Associate Dean in International Studies. At first glance, I might not have appeared to be a typical fit for a Fisheries and Wildlife department. But that's part of what makes Bill “Bill.” He was able to see my unique strengths and how they could be of value to FW – and convince me (and many others over the years) of the value of joining FW.Bill Taylor invited me to join FW when he became department chair. We had met through our membership in the Canadian Studies Center and took a shine to one another. Bill was gregarious and welcoming. He spoke about how FW was a great and growing department, operating broadly in the field of natural resources – and he was very persuasive in his friendly and engaging Bill way. I asked if I could bring my “Fur Is Dead” bumper sticker. He said, “Tracy, we take all kinds,” with a twinkle in his eye. As I met members of the department, I felt increasingly comfortable and intrigued with the diversity of scientists and thought that my expertise in environmental law would be a good fit. They were an eclectic group, and our interactions gave me a taste of many different branches of biological science and the different kinds of work I could be collaborating with and learning from.I took a leap of faith that FW was the place for me. Jumping into the deep end of the pool, I found my footing with the assistance of a great set of colleagues and Bill's steady guidance and support. Because of Bill, I was invited early in my time at FW to serve as the Human Dimensions person on the Board of Technical Experts of the Great Lakes Fishery Commission. Again, Bill could see where linking diverse people could be of value. On the board, I was able to add a much-needed perspective to discussions that focused primarily on fish, fish habitat, food webs and fish disease – and learned a lot along the way.Due to this fortuitous professional turn, my research and writing increasingly turned to fisheries issues—which became central to my career. Building on connections to fisheries in Malawi I had made in International Studies, I focused for years on an extremely challenged chambo fishery where research needed to better account for the human dimensions impacting the outcomes policymakers wanted to change.Bill continued to build out my connections. He linked me with assistant professor Rique Campa. Rique recommended that I join the Society for Conservation Biology (SCB). My SCB membership led to participation in a variety of US and international conferences, and my subsequent membership on the SCB Board. With SCB, I met many fantastic colleagues from across the country and around the world. My connections and career continued to grow.Bill, however, not only provided me with direct linkages to organizations and people; he also encouraged my development as a researcher and mentor. As I settled into FW, he started gently prodding me to search for grants and to take on graduate students, something I had not previously done and that was not expected of faculty in my former department. Bill was there to assist and guide me, making suggestions of granting agencies to approach and finding students who shared my interests. Low and behold, as a result of his prodding, I had a research program with masters and Ph.D. students, one of whom accompanied me to Malawi. And, working with graduate students ended up being a very rewarding part of my career.As I gained my professional footing in this world and began to look into ways to build programming around my expertise, Bill was an enthusiastic supporter. When I and a colleague and in Anthropology began to develop a program in the subject of Gender and Environment, Bill thought it innovative, creative and interesting. He was all in on me investing my time in this effort. He encouraged us every step of the way and spoke positively about our nascent program to our dean. Subsequently, Bill encouraged me to create an undergraduate course in our department, Introduction of Gender and Environment, the first MSU undergraduate class in the subject. Once the class became known, we had good enrollments and a strong reputation for the value of subject matter. We went on to create a cross campus multidisciplinary Center for Gender in Global Context. GJEC now has a graduate program, undergraduate specializations, and many affiliated faculty. Numerous MSU colleges provide funding for GJEC, including CANR. Bill Taylor was on the ground floor of this program building effort. A provost who is no longer at MSU thought GJEC would never last. Now when someone wishes to organize a center on campus, they point to GJEC as a model of excellence. Bill helped make this happen.Somewhere in this time frame Bill came into my office to check in with me to see how I was doing. I said I really liked being a part of FW, but the one thing I missed was teaching a course I had taught while in my former department, a Women's Studies course called “Women and the Law.” He said, “Why don't you teach it here?” And that was that. Once every other year FW offered WS404, “Women and Law,” and my teaching life was perfect! It was made possible because Bill could envision a department that had not only diverse faculty, but diverse offerings. This was a hallmark of Bill's to encourage faculty to pursue their personal expertise within FW. Another faculty member in our midst who received this attention was Don Garling, who Bill encouraged to employ his love and expertise in the realm of orchids. This kind of openness and enthusiasm for the work of his colleagues was a central part of what helped make the environment in FW so exceptional.I would also like to note how Bill Taylor enhanced our department in yet another significant way: he brought Henry Regier, a phenomenal Canadian scholar and colleague, into regular contact with our faculty and graduate students. Henry is a scientist without peers – an innovator who thinks outside the box and delights conference audiences with his unusual perspectives. Many of us got to know him well. Working with Bill, Bill's mentors, and others, Henry was a leader in bringing the ecosystem approach to our Great Lakes research and education activities. In recognition of his many outstanding achievements, Bill successfully nominated Dr. Regier for a Michigan State University honorary Ph.D.I believe my story exemplifies the story of our department. Bill Taylor was tireless is his efforts to help faculty and students reach their full potential bettering themselves and the department, while consistently drawing in new people to enrich the department. In so doing, he created a truly phenomenal FW department.I should say the obvious: As an outcome of Bill's many efforts FW became recognized as among the very best in the U.S. It took time and dedication. When I joined FW, we were a small group, maybe 37. When I retired, we were more than 50 strong. Bill had a certain knack for building the department. I watched him, for example, be given the opportunity to recruit for a faculty position (and this happened at least twice, if not 3 times). We cast the net and found two absolutely superb people. We were supposed to choose one or the other. We did not. Bill somehow smooth talked the dean and provost into giving us two positions. It is true that they were (or are if they are still there) truly superior academics and MSU/FW is fortunate to have them. But this is part of the magic of Bill Taylor. Relatedly, when a multi-specialty endowed chair scientist was given her choice of home departments, she looked over her options and chose FW! A further testament to the high regard in which the department is held.Bill expanded FW in a variety of ways large and small, adding expertise and forging a number of institutional alliances. Sometimes it seemed to happen so quickly that it made my head spin! Much expansion occurred right on campus. With Bill's urging the Quantitative Fisheries Center was created, seeking to expand the use of quantitative methods for fisheries management. The Center for Systems Integration and Sustainability encouraged by Bill and led by Jack Liu, one of the department's endowed chairs, has come to international prominence. FW also added genetics and fish disease expertise among others. His vision as enacted truly illustrates the ecosystem approach.Ultimately, I hope I've shown some of the traits that make Bill Taylor so deserving of tribute. He can envision diverse ways of building connections between people to the benefit of all. He can see the unique contributions that people of very different backgrounds have to make when brought together. He is eager to offer career development support and provide meaningful ways to advance the careers of his colleagues and in so doing enhance the department. In my time of knowing him, Bill built a stronger department on campus that lives on to the benefit of faculty and students who now carry it forward.On a final note, I add this: When I decided to take Bill's offer to join FW and leave the College of Business, my then husband said I was crazy, that it was a poor career choice. As I now look back, it is the single best career decision I ever made. In terms of professional development and enjoyment, it could not have been better. Thank you, Bill Taylor!

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