Microsoft Corporation North America Community Affairs director Andrea Taylor was appointed to the Boston University Board of Trustees at a recent meeting, according to a Tuesday press release.
Taylor, a 1968 College of Communication alumna and former United Nations delegate, is one of six members of her family to graduate from BU.
‘The Board of Trustees always looks for outstanding individuals who can bring a variety of backgrounds to the Board’s deliberations, planning and advice,’ BU spokesman Colin Riley said. ‘She is certainly well qualified to do that.’
Taylor has a wide background that she can incorporate in her new role, according to the press release.
‘She works closely with nonprofit organizations, governments and businesses in the U.S. and Canada to advance employability and workforce development for youth, women, seniors, and displaced and disabled workers,’ the press release states.
Board Chair Robert Knox said in the press release Taylor, who started out as a journalist for organizations including The Boston Globe before moving on to the Ford Foundation and eventually Microsoft, brings multi-faced knowledge and experience to the role.
”Andrea’s passion for education, her global perspective and her comprehensive understanding of new media are just three of the many valuable assets she brings to the board,” Knox said in the release.
Taylor has also taught a course entitled, ‘New Media, Power, and Global Diversity’ at Harvard University.
The course was meant ‘to help prepare the next generation of academic leaders for policy and practice in the age of digital media,’ the press release states.
In 2008, Taylor received a Distinguished Alumni Award from COM for her contributions to the communications industry, according to the press release.
Riley said Taylor will join the trustees in their advisory position to BU administration.
‘The role of a trustee is to advise and guide and weigh in on the plans and direction of the senior administration and be supportive in as much as they can,’ he said. ‘They bring their various areas of expertise to the table so they will be able to help the university make the best decisions, decisions that are in the best interest of the university and the university’s students, faculty [and] staff.’
Riley said BU expects Taylor to contribute much to the workings of the Board.
‘Her being named to the board really is terrific,’ he said. ‘It says a lot about her abilities and what we expect her contributions to be to the Board’s deliberations.’
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