Chief Justice Taylor to speak at OSU Commencement

Friday, November 9, 2012

Oklahoma State University alumnus Steven W. Taylor, chief justice of the Oklahoma Supreme Court, will be the featured speaker at the university’s commencement ceremonies on Saturday, Dec. 15, at Gallagher-Iba Arena in Stillwater. Taylor was appointed as a justice of the state’s highest court in 2004 after serving over 20 years as a trial judge. During that time, he presided over more than 500 jury trials, including the Terry Nichols Oklahoma City bombing case.

“As an OSU alumnus and distinguished public servant, Chief Justice Taylor is an excellent choice to speak to our new graduates,” said OSU President Burns Hargis. “From his early service as a chief prosecutor and judge in the armed forces, his leadership in civic and economic development, and his long-term commitment to Oklahoma’s legal system, Justice Taylor is the embodiment of achievement and service. I’m sure the graduates will appreciation the insights he has gained from a remarkable career.” 

Taylor was recognized by OSU in 2002 as a “Leadership Legacy” and as a “Distinguished Alumnus” in 2003. He was inducted into the OSU Hall of Fame in 2007 and the University of Oklahoma presented him with the Regents Alumni Award in 2009. He is the only person to have received the highest alumni recognition from both universities. In its 2007 centennial edition, Oklahoma magazine named Taylor as one of the “100 Who Shaped Us” – a list of living and past Oklahomans who influenced the first 100 years of our state. In 2009, he was inducted into the Oklahoma Hall of Fame, the highest honor an Oklahoman can receive from the state.

Taylor graduated from OSU in 1971 with a bachelor’s degree in political science and in 1974 with a juris doctorate from the University of Oklahoma College of Law. Following his active duty service in the Marines, Taylor practiced law in McAlester where he was elected mayor, the youngest in the city’s history. In March 1984, he was appointed associate district judge for Pittsburg County and in 1991 he became the first associate district judge ever elected president of the Oklahoma Judicial Conference. Taylor was later elected to serve as district judge of the 18th Judicial District and then presiding judge of the ten-county East-Central Judicial Administrative District. He was the recipient of the Oklahoma Bar Association Award of Judicial Excellence in 2003 as the outstanding Oklahoma judge of the year.

Taylor serves on the board of directors of the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation, and the Oklahoma City National Memorial and the Oklahoma Heritage Association. He is a trustee of Oklahoma City University. His wife Mary is a teacher in the McAlester Public Schools. They have one son Wilson. Taylor is the co-author of a book, “The University of Oklahoma College of Law: A Centennial History.”

For additional details about the OSU commencement, go to http://commencement.okstate.edu/