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Lafayette mathematics major Crystal Taylor of Hyattsville, Md., is one of 79 students across the country chosen to receive a 2002 Jack Kent Cooke Foundation Undergraduate Scholarship.
Recipients have “a high level of achievement as demonstrated by superior grades, academically rigorous courses, and participation in challenging extracurricular activities, especially those demonstrating leadership potential,” according to the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation, which awards recipients up to $30,000 annually toward tuition and fees.
This summer, Taylor, a rising senior, is continuing her work as an EXCEL Scholar with Gladstone A. Hutchinson, dean of studies and associate professor of economics and business, investigating the often-complex relationship between the public and private sectors. She began the project last spring, when she also conducted an independent study under his guidance on the potential impact of globalization. In Lafayette's EXCEL Scholars program, students assist faculty with research while earning a stipend.
“Lafayette is a wonderful place for students to reach out and accomplish great things,” says Taylor, who is minoring in both economics & business and French. “I cannot imagine another small liberal arts college where such resources would be available for an undergraduate student to step out of his or her major area of concentration to do meaningful research-oriented work with well qualified professors in other areas of interest.”
The EXCEL project investigates the premise that the partnering of private finance with the government sector is an underutilized approach to addressing urban blight in American cities, Taylor explains.
“Central to this idea is identifying the underlying symbiosis between the attraction and use of private finance, the acculturation of market values, and the sustenance of economic initiatives in urban environments,” she says. “We intend to demonstrate that in bringing together of these key ideas, and in improving our understanding of the underlying behavioral factors of this complex relationship, sustainable and productive partnerships between the public and private sectors can be forged.”
Taylor says of working with Hutchinson, “As a professor, he brings both a strenuous work ethic and a wealth of knowledge of the issues to the table. As a mentor, he is enthusiastic and forward thinking. I cannot imagine having a more dedicated mentor on my team.”
“This sort of in-depth study involving economic, political, as well as philosophical issues, while certainly different from my major area of concentration at the college, was right up my alley as far as interest and enthusiasm were concerned,” she says of her independent study.
This past school year, Taylor participated in Lafayette's McKelvy House Scholars program, which brings together students of high academic achievement and promise to reside in an historic off-campus house and share in intellectual and social activities. She also is on an Alternative School Break Club team that will alleviate hunger in Washington, D.C., over fall break, Oct. 11-15, 2002. As “cultural guru,” Taylor will educate team members about the culture of the area, the agencies with whom they are working, and issues that surround the needs they are serving.
Last fall, Taylor studied in Dijon, France. Last summer, she served an internship in the urban investment group of Goldman Sachs & Company in New York. The prior year, she worked in the financial management department of firm's the fixed income, currencies and commodities division.
Taylor has served as a member of the Lafayette College Trustee Committee on Financial Policy. “I found this to be an extremely rewarding experience wherein I was able to be a part of the creation and implementation of real-life financial policy initiatives,” says Taylor, who also has been treasurer of Lafayette Communications Union, an organization dedicated to fostering effective oral communication, and has worked as fitness supervisor in Kirby Sports Center. She was a member of an undefeated team that won the four-on-four intramural flag football championship this spring.
After graduation, Taylor plans to continue her studies in the area of applied economics, focusing on public policy and urban planning.
Jack Kent Cooke, who built a media empire and also owned the Chrysler Building, the Los Angeles Lakers, and the Washington Redskins, died in April 1997.
Jack Kent Cooke Foundation Undergraduate Scholarship. Crystal Taylor ’03 and one of her Lafayette research mentors, Gladstone Hutchinson, dean of studies.