Whitworth board deciding Friday on new president

The Whitworth University Board of Trustees will decide Friday whether to name a Birmingham, Ala., economist as its new president. Beck A. Taylor, dean of the Brock School of Business at Samford University, was the unanimous choice of the presidential search committee, said Greg Orwig, communications director for Whitworth University. He would replace Bill Robinson who announced last fall that this would be his last academic year at Whitworth after 17 years as president of the private liberal arts college. Taylor received master’s and doctorate degrees in economics from Purdue University in West Lafayette, Ind., after earning an undergraduate degree from Baylor University. He came to Samford in 2005 from the Hankamer School of Business at Baylor, where he served as associate dean. While he was at Samford, a $100 million endowment was launched at the Brock School of Business, which was recognized this year as the nation’s top emerging program by the U.S. Association for Small Business and Entrepreneurship. Taylor has worked as a business consultant for dozens of organizations, including Finance and Resource Management Consultants of Bellingham, Wash. He and his wife Julie have three children.