Charles Taylor, Ph.D.

Office: Shewmaker 138
Phone: (417) 873-7391
E-Mail: ctaylor@drury.edu

Fall 2024 Office Hours

Monday
8 – 10 a.m.
3 – 4 p.m.

Tuesday
8 – 10 a.m.
3 – 4 p.m.

Wednesday
8 – 10 a.m.
3 – 4 p.m.

Thursday
8 – 10 a.m.
3 – 4 p.m.

Friday
8 – 10 a.m.
3 – 4 p.m.

Charles Taylor

Professor of Communication
Major Gifts Officer

Charles Taylor is Professor of Communication and Director of the M.A. in Communication program. In December 2014, he completed a decade of service to Drury University as Vice-President for Academic Affairs. He has been a member of the Drury faculty since 1997 and taught full time in the Department of Communication until 2001 when he became Associate Dean of the College. Prior to joining the Drury faculty, he served as Associate Professor and Director of Undergraduate Studies in the Department of Communication and Culture at Indiana University-Bloomington. He received his Ph.D. (1990) and M.A. (1987) in Speech Communication from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and his B.A. from The School of the Ozarks (1985).

He is the author of Defining Science: A Rhetoric of Demarcation (Univ. of Wisconsin Press, 1996), as well as numerous articles, chapters, and invited reviews on the rhetoric of science. He has received the Karl R. Wallace Memorial Award of the National Communication Association for Scholarship in Rhetoric, and was a finalist for the National Communication Association’s award for Most Outstanding Rhetorical Studies Scholar. He received the Drury University Faculty Award for Excellence in Scholarship in 2000 and the Drury Student Senate’s Outstanding Faculty Member Award in 1999. His scholarly publications focus on the impact of rhetorical phenomena to shape human perception, motivation and action in cultural, political and scientific domains.

As a member of the communication and general education faculty, he has taught the politics of rock and roll, rhetorical criticism, public speaking, communication theory, senior seminar, persuasion and introduction to graduate studies. He has served as a co-advisor to the Drury University Enactus (formerly SIFE) team since 1999, a period during which the team won 15 regional, 3 national and 2 world championships. His heroes are Calvin and Hobbes.

Drury University faculty member since 1997
Professor since 2005

Education

B.A., The College of the Ozarks, 1985
M.A., University of Illinois-Champaign, 1987
Ph.D., University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1990

Representative Publications

Taylor, C. and R. Maxson (2002). Against Duelisms: A (Pro)Gnosis for Critical Practice. Rhetoric and Public Policy, 12, 411-429.
Taylor, C. (1999). The rhetorics of and in cold fusion. In J.T. Battalio, (Ed.). Essays in the Study of Scientific Discourse: Methods, Practice, and Pedagogy. (pp. 284-292) Stamford CT: Ablex Publishing.
Taylor, C. (1998). Feuding Communities and the feudalism of the rhetoric of science. In J.M. Hogan, (Ed.). Argument and Communities, (pp. 284-292) Columbia SC: University of South Carolina Press.
Taylor, C. (1997). Theorizing practice and practicing theory: Toward a constructive analysis of scientific rhetorics. Communication Theory, 21, 37-52.

Representative Competitive Conference Presentations

Taylor, C. (2009, June). Leadership, Accountability, and Planning: A Chief Academic Officer's Perspective. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the New American Colleges and Universities. Qunnipiac University: Hamden CT
Taylor, C. (2007, June). Toward a Global Concept of Phronesis: Thoughts on Higher Education in the Global Community. College of Humanities and Social Sciences, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China.
Taylor, C. (2007, June). Toward a Global Concept of Phronesis: Thoughts on Higher Education in the Global Community. College of Humanities and Social Sciences, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China.
Taylor, C. (2007, January). Toward a Global Vision for Liberal Education. Paper presented at Founders Day Convocation, Hem Sheela Model School, Durgapur, India.
Taylor, C. (2006, June). New Horizons for Rhetoric of Science: Reforming Public Policy. Paper presented at the semi-annual meeting of the International Consortium for Rhetorical Studies of Science and Technology, London, UK.
Taylor, C. (2006, June). A Touch of Grey: Lessons From a Career's First Fifteen Years. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Associated New American Colleges, Springfield, MO.
Taylor, C. (2006, January). Liberal Education: The Dean's Leadership Role. Paper presented at a joint meeting of the American Council of Academic Deans and Association of American Colleges and Universities. Washington, D.C.
Taylor, C. and Wyatt, R. (2004, November). Entrepreneurship, Education and Social Empowerment. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Consortium for Entrepreneurship Education. San Antonio.