Beck Taylor celebrated his first anniversary as president of Samford University in Birmingham on July 1 and said Samford has exceeded his expectations.

“Samford is even better than I thought,” he told Jennifer Davis Rash, president and editor-in-chief of TAB Media, in a recent interview.

Sharing highlights of his first year back in the city, Taylor said he hit the ground running from day one, and he and his wife, Julie, “have tried to fit two or three years into this first year!”

“We wake up more excited than we’ve ever been about the future of Samford,” he said. “The more we learn about this place, the more we get to know the people of Samford — from our faculty, staff and students to our alumni and friends throughout the community — the more excited we are about Samford’s future.”

Building relationships first

Taylor spent much of his first year traveling through the region building relationships — “listening to people’s Samford stories, listening to how people articulated their excitement about the university and then beginning to articulate my vision and understanding of the future of this place.”

Noting the many roles his wife fulfills as Samford’s first lady Taylor said, “She helps host many events at our home and on campus. She’s a cheerleader for our students, faculty and staff. She really takes that role seriously.”

She also is executive director of Samford’s Legacy League, a scholarship foundation raising money for the university’s neediest students and providing care and programming.

Taylor said some of his favorite memories from the first year are special bonds he and Julie have forged with Samford students.

“Traveling with students, doing admissions events with students, going to basketball games with students, going to the University of Florida when Samford played Florida in the fall and cheering along with our students. Anything that puts us close to students.”

In May, Samford received the largest single donor gift ever given to an institution of higher education in Alabama — $100 million from the Marvin Mann estate.

On June 1, Taylor and university officials announced a $65 million capital project to enlarge and renovate existing buildings to create a new state-of-the-art recreation and athletic complex.

‘So much more to do’

“Even though things are going tremendously well in almost every measure, there’s so much more for the university to do,” Taylor acknowledged.

One of his highlights of the first year as Samford president was getting to preach in several Alabama Baptist churches and meeting with dozens of Baptist association leaders and pastors throughout the state.

“The opportunity to articulate my deep appreciation for and the university’s love for our Alabama Baptist roots and our desire to continue to see those partnerships flourish was certainly a highlight of the year,” he said

“One of the best parts of this job is that every day is a little bit different, and I get to wear a slightly different hat as I represent Samford.”

Taylor returned to Samford after serving as president of Whitworth University in Spokane, Washington, beginning in 2010. He previously was dean and professor of economics for Samford’s Brock School of Business (2005–10) and associate dean for research and faculty development for Baylor University’s Hankamer School of Business (1997–2005).

Taylor noted challenges and pressures that come with higher education, including navigating cultural and economic winds with wisdom and faithfulness.  

“I think Samford is uniquely positioned to address effectively [these pressures],” he said.

When people ask how they can support the university Taylor responds by seeking prayer.

‘Community of prayer’

“This is a community of prayer,” he noted. “We take prayer very seriously on this campus. Its people are bathed in prayer every day from faithful people all across the globe, and we covet those prayers.”

Samford is “a place that intentionally brings together ideas and people who fundamentally might disagree with one another on important issues of the day,” Taylor noted.

“Faithful, Jesus-loving, Bible-believing Christians disagree on a whole host of issues and we shouldn’t be afraid of that disagreement,” he continued. “We should be thankful that God has put us into a community that allows us to discern together what wisdom is, what truth is and how to live faithfully into our callings as Christians.

“That doesn’t mean that we’re losing our Christian moorings,” Taylor was quick to add. “It doesn’t mean that we don’t take the Bible seriously. We take all those things very seriously, but we want our students to hear what those opposing ideas are so that when they graduate, they can be faithful, winsome Christians in the world.”

For more information about Samford University, visit the university’s website. For more interviews like this, visit TAB Media Group’s YouTube channel.