Report from Santa Fe; J. Paul Taylor

KENW-TV, Eastern New Mexico University, Portales, New Mexico · October 12, 2013

This week's guest on “Report from Santa Fe” is J. Paul Taylor, educator, legislator, historian, art patron, and community leader. Taylor served as the Representative from Dona Ana County in the New Mexico House of Representatives from 1987 through 2005, where he was called “the conscience of the House.” He chaired the Health and Human Services Committee and won the “Legislator of the Decade” award. As a lawmaker he carried the bill that created the Office of Child Development which led to half-day and full-day Kindergarten programs, and other advances in early childhood education. Before Taylor became a legislator, he served as an educator for 39 years, pioneering bilingual education and creating the statewide 5th Grade New Mexico History Program. The New Mexico Education Association elected Taylor president in 1968 and New Mexico State University awarded him an honorary doctorate degree. In the early 2000s NMSU established the J. Paul Taylor Endowed Professorship in Early Childhood Education and in 2004 instituted the annual J. Paul Taylor Social Justice Symposium. Esteemed as cultural preservationists, Taylor and his wife Mary collected religious art treasures, amassing 4,000 pieces of art in their home on Mesilla Plaza, one of the most architecturally significant properties in Southern New Mexico. On the National Register of Historic Properties, his home was dedicated a New Mexico State Monument in 2004. Paul and Mary Taylor gifted their home filled with its world class art collection to the state of New Mexico, deciding “to give our home to future generations of New Mexicans to learn about the past and keep their heritage alive.” At age 93, Taylor continues to serve as a member of the Museum of New Mexico's Board of Regents.