biographical statement

Elinor Zimmerman Taylor, known as “EZ”, served in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives from 1977-2006. She represented the 156th District of Chester County, and she was born on April 18, 1921 in Norristown, Pennsylvania. She attended West Chester State Teachers College, receiving her B.S. in 1943, and she graduated from Temple University with an M.Ed. in 1958. She also attended Columbia University and the University of Delaware, and she received her Doctorate of Public Service honoris causa from West Chester University in 1996. She was also named Professor Emeritus at West Chester University in 2005, and Susquehanna University made her an Honorary Doctor of Laws in 2005. She became an Associate Professor at the School of Health and Physical Education at West Chester State College in 1976, and from 1970-1975 she was the Dean of Administration. She then became a council member for the Borough of West Chester from 1974-1978. She had also been a teacher at West Chester High School and Ridley Park High School. Taylor was very active in her community. She served on the Tuition Account Program (TAP), and she was a board member for West Chester University Foundation, West Chester Area Day Care Center, AAA Advisory Board of Chester County, Bishop Shanahan High School Development Board, and the Henderson Hall of Fame. She was on the board of trustees for the W. Glenn Killinger Football Scholarship and the Dr. Charles S. Swope Foundation. She was a member of the West Chester University President’s Advisory Council, Act 101-West Chester University Academic Development Council, ALEC Educational Task Force, Chester County Interagency Coordinated Council, Chester County Art Association, Soroptomists, American Red Cross, and WCU Council of Trustees. During her time in the House, she served on the Education Committee from 1977-1994 and as Subcommittee Chair on Higher Education from 1979-1988, Health and Welfare Committee from 1977-1988 and as Chair from 1991-1994, Local Government Committee from 1979-1982, Federal-State Relations Committee from 1983-1984 and as Chair from 1989-1990, and Rules Committee from 1995-2006. She served as Majority Caucus Secretary from 1995-2002 and Majority Caucus Chair from 2003-2006, and she was on the House Commission on Postsecondary Education for the 21st Century. Taylor served on the board of the Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency (PHEAA) from 1977to 2006; as Vice Chairman of the Board from 1991-1995 and became the first female Chairperson of its board of directors in 1995. On January 27, 2003, PHEAA named its headquarters building in her honor. Taylor retired from the House in 2006. Issues that were important to her were: basic and higher education, charter schools, schools of choice, student grants and loans, the tuition account program, health and welfare issues of long-term and “uncompensated” care for the elderly, and child care. Taylor died on July 27, 2010 in Stuart, FL.

Found in 1 Collection or Record: