Fielding Graduate University honors Dr. Orlando L. Taylor as 2022 Marie Fielder Medal for Social Transformation recipient

Fielding Graduate University will commemorate a nationally recognized communications scholar and academic leader for his work in mentoring generations of students of color and women.

Orlando L. Taylor, Ph.D., will be honored as the 2022 Marie Fielder Medal for Social Transformation recipient on Thursday, Nov. 17 at 8 a.m.-8:45 a.m. PST/11 a.m.-11:45 a.m. EST at a public livestream on Fielding’s YouTube channel.

Based in Washington, D.C., Dr. Taylor has been a national leader in graduate education, including issues related to diversity, equity and inclusion, for more than 40 years. He works tirelessly to continue to prepare the next generation of college and university researchers, faculty members and leaders across the nation.

Currently, he serves as the Distinguished Senior Advisor to the Fielding President, Principal Investigator, and Executive Director of the National Science Foundation-funded Center for the Advancement of STEM Leadership (CASL). Previous roles include service as university president, provost and faculty member at other colleges and universities. He is also the Founding Director of the Marie Fielder Center for Democracy, Leadership, and Education.

Taylor is the sixth recipient of this distinguished award and said receiving it is a full-circle moment.

“To receive an award in the name of Marie Fielder in and of itself is an honor because of the great contributions she made to the nation and disenfranchised communities during her lifetime as an educator and activist,” Taylor said. “It’s both humbling and rewarding to be recognized by my peers and colleagues at Fielding. There’s an expression about being a prophet in one’s own land. It’s very difficult, but to be awarded this medal by my colleagues and peers is quite special.”

The annual award recognizes an individual for a lifetime of achievements devoted to efforts that support educational access and success. Each year, the Center’s Advisory Council seeks contributions toward advancing Indigenous worldviews and ecological justice, as well as one or more of the following areas: social advocacy/activism, research, leadership, education and public service.

“Dr. Taylor has been a national leader for many years on issues pertaining to diversity and inclusion in higher education,” said President Katrina S. Rogers, Ph.D. “He is a visionary with a singular focus on broadening participation in education so that all members of society advance in their professional and personal lives. His voice remains steadfast to broaden participation in our society, and his efforts advance the dream of an inclusive America that can only be realized through higher education.”

Past recipients of the Marie Fielder Medal for Social Transformation include Dr. Walter Bumphus, President of the American Association for Community Colleges; Dr. Gary Orfield, Co-Director of the Civil Rights Project at UCLA; Dr. Patricia Gurin, Nancy Cantor, Distinguished University Professor Emerita of Psychology and Women’s Studies at the University of Michigan; American labor leader Dolores Huerta; and Professor Angela Davis, social justice activist, writer and scholar.

Learn more about Fielding Graduate University at www.fielding.edu.

For 48 years, Fielding Graduate University has been educating leaders, scholars, and practitioners for a more just and sustainable world. An accredited nonprofit leader, we combine face‐to‐face and online learning, delivering graduate education that fosters individual development, community collaboration,and societal engagement. Taught by faculty representing a breadth of scholarship and practice, our rigorous curriculum offers courses and degrees in psychology, leadership, and education for professionals living and working anywhere in the world. Learn more at fielding.edu.