A New Director of Development for WKU Libraries and Museum

Robbin Morrison Taylor, a long time aide to U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell, joined the development staff at Western Kentucky University in June as the associate director of Corporate and Foundation Relations. In that position she also serves as the director of development for the WKU Libraries and The Kentucky Museum.

Taylor was the South Central Kentucky Field Representative for Senator McConnell for nine years, serving as his constituent liaison in 22 counties and assisting local governments and community residents with matters of federal interest. She holds two degrees from Western: a bachelor's degree in government and public relations received in 1990 and a master's degree in public administration received in 1997. She is a 1997 graduate of the Leadership Bowling Green program and was selected by her classmates as the Bart Hagerman Leadership Award winner. She is a former member of the Bowling Green Junior Woman's Club and the Capitol Arts Alliance board of directors. Taylor is married to Joe W. Taylor II and has one son. She is a member of Living Hope Baptist Church.

"With the implementation of the Challenging the Spirit strategic plan and the recent unveiling of the Investing in the Spirit comprehensive capital campaign which will fund those initiatives, this is an exciting time to be at Western," Taylor said. "Under the leadership of President Gary Ransdell and Tom Hiles (Vice President for Development and Alumni Relations), Western is well on its way to being a nationally prominent institution, and I am thrilled to have the opportunity to be a part of this dynamic team."

Rick DuBose, director of Corporate and Foundation Relations, said, "We are very excited that Robbin is joining our team. She brings a wealth of experience and love for the University. She will work very closely with our libraries and The Kentucky Museum to secure both major gifts and other programmatic support, as well as assisting with our total corporate relations efforts."

"African American Folk Art in Kentucky"

"African American Folk Art in Kentucky" is a traveling exhibit developed by the Kentucky Folk Art Center to provide a first-ever look at the work of self-taught African American artists born in Kentucky between 1906 and 1963, from a coal camp in the eastern mountains to a rural community near the Mississippi River.

With a wide variety of drawings and paintings, the three-dimensional work includes sculptures made from found objects and driftwood, carvings in the coastal Carolina tradition, and magnificent costumes made out of recycled plastic bags. The art comes from 10 individuals with very different life experiences. The artists have worked at various times as housemaid, homemaker, sharecropper, janitor, laborer, builder, social service supervisor, pro-basketball player, and mortician, and their lives have been as different and as varied as their art. The exhibition will run from January 2 to February 28, 2001. Last year, a similar exhibit, the Smithsonian traveling African American exhibit, "Wade in the Water," was visited by more than 5,000 Kentucky Museum patrons.

~Carol Cummings

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