Kathy Taylor, a corporate attorney with McAfee & Taft and the former mayor of the City of Tulsa, has been selected as one of seven Resident Fellows for Harvard University’s Institute of Politics located at the John F. Kennedy School of Government in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
As part of her Fellowship, Taylor will take a sabbatical from her corporate law practice at the state’s largest law firm for the spring 2012 academic semester. While at Harvard, she and her Resident Fellow colleagues will interact with students, participate in the intellectual life of the Harvard community, and lead weekly study groups on a wide variety of issues.
“We are looking forward to welcoming our spring 2012 Fellows to Harvard,” said Harvard’s Institute of Politics Director Trey Grayson. “Their public service experience throughout local, state and federal government and in journalism and international politics should create strong interest among students, faculty and the entire university community.”
Also selected as a Resident Fellow for the upcoming academic semester are Farai Chideya, author, online journalist and host of National Public Radio’s “News and Notes” program; Artur Davis, former U.S. representative from Alabama; Margaret McKenna, president of the WalMart Foundation and former deputy undersecretary of education and deputy White House counsel to President Jimmy Carter; George Nethercutt, former U.S. representative from Washington; Steven Schrage, former chief of staff to U.S. Senator Scott Brown and former senior State Department, White House/USTR and G8 official; and Ted Strickland, former governor and U.S. representative from Ohio.
In addition, the Institute will host Wael Nawara, Egyptian writer and politician, co-founder and former secretary general of Egypt's El Ghad Party (2005 - 2011, as a Visiting Fellow from February 13 to March 9, 2012.
After more than 20 years as a lawyer in private practice and as a corporate executive, Taylor entered public service in 2003 when she was appointed by Governor Brad Henry to the position of Oklahoma Secretary of Commerce, Tourism and Workforce Development. Upon completion of her term as mayor of the City of Tulsa in 2009, she served on the cabinet of Governor Henry as Chief of Education Strategy and Innovation before re-entering private practice.
“While I will miss Tulsa and my colleagues at McAfee & Taft, the opportunity to be a Fellow at Harvard and work with students interested in entering public service is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” said Taylor.
According to Grayson, the Fellows program is central to the Institute’s dual commitment to encourage student interest in public life and to increase interaction between the academic and political communities.
Harvard University’s Institute of Politics (IOP) was established in 1966 as a memorial to President Kennedy. The IOP’s mission is to unite and engage students, particularly undergraduates, with academics, politicians, activists, and policymakers on a non-partisan basis to inspire them to consider careers in politics and public service. The Institute strives to promote greater understanding and cooperation between the academic world and the world of politics and public affairs.