Glenn E. Taylor honored as Distinguished Engineering Graduate
December 9, 2005

After earning a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from The University of Texas at Austin, Glenn E. Taylor started his multi-faceted career at Diamond Alkali. He spent 20 years with the company, which later became Diamond Shamrock Corp. During those years, he served in process engineering and development as an operations supervisor, a technical manager, a plant manager, and eventually a division operations manager. Five of those years were spent on assignment in Colombia, South America, and in Mexico as part of the International Division.

In the late 1970s, Taylor applied his diverse expertise in leading a privately owned instrumentation company, where he served as president for four years. He then joined Engelhard Corp. in New Jersey as director of manufacturing in the Pigments Division, eventually assuming overall responsibility for that business unit.

After five years in that position, Taylor became the corporation’s vice president of joint ventures and manufacturing services. He was responsible for purchasing, environmental, health, and safety aspects of manufacturing, and for joint ventures the company pursued in Japan and Korea. His leadership skills were also tapped when he oversaw a team that developed a corporate-wide strategy for the company’s business in Asia and the Pacific.

He retired from Engelhard in 1996, but his strong work ethic and broad knowledge led him to assume the position of executive director of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE). As director for five years, Taylor implemented a new strategic plan that involved the first major governance change in 30 years. He played an instrumental role in forming the North American Alliance of Chemical Engineers and the World Chemical Engineering Council. He whetted his appetite for educating young engineers by teaching a course at the University of Virginia on topics that included communications, teams, ethics and intellectual property.

That interest in education continues now through his assistance in operating a school for underprivileged children in Honduras. He also maintains an active interest in Longhorn Sports and the College of Engineering as a member of the Engineering Foundation Advisory Council and Friends of Alec.