Harvey L. Taylor was an American educator and educational administrator.

He was a native of Harrisville, Utah

Harrisville, Utah

Harrisville is a city in Weber County, Utah, United States. The population was 3,645 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Ogden–Clearfield, Utah Metropolitan Statistical Area.-History:...

 and studied at what is today Weber State University

Weber State University

Weber State University is a public university located in the city of Ogden in Weber County, Utah, USA. It was founded in 1889 and is a coeducational, publicly supported university offering professional, liberal arts and technical certificates, as well as associate, bachelor's and master's degrees...

. He received a bachelors degree from the University of Utah

University of Utah

The University of Utah, also known as the U or the U of U, is a public, coeducational research university in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. The university was established in 1850 as the University of Deseret by the General Assembly of the provisional State of Deseret, making it Utah's oldest...

 in 1921 and an MA from Columbia University

Columbia University

Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...

 in 1925.

Taylor then taught at Weber, followed by serving as principal of Gila Academy (the predecessor of the Eastern Arizona College

Eastern Arizona College

Eastern Arizona College , is a community college located in Graham County, Arizona. The main campus is in Thatcher, with satellite locations in Gila County, and Greenlee County...

). He then was principal of Mesa Union High School and later superintendent of the Mesa Public Schools

Mesa Public Schools

Mesa Public Schools is the unified school district for the city of Mesa, Arizona, United States...

. Taylor became an administrative assistant to Ernest L. Wilkinson

Ernest L. Wilkinson

Ernest Leroy Wilkinson was an American academic administrator and prominent figure in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints . He was president of Brigham Young University from 1951 to 1971 and also oversaw the entire LDS Church Educational System. Prior to this, Wilkinson was a lawyer...

 at Brigham Young University

Brigham Young University

Brigham Young University is a private university located in Provo, Utah. It is owned and operated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints , and is the United States' largest religious university and third-largest private university.Approximately 98% of the university's 34,000 students...

 in 1952. He had responsibility over working with faculty and other academic issues.

In 1957 Taylor was made a vice president of BYU, also holding supervisory roles over Ricks College. From this time forward he served as acting president of BYU when Wilkinson was elsewhere.

Sources

• Ernest L. Wilkinson
  Ernest L. Wilkinson
  Ernest Leroy Wilkinson was an American academic administrator and prominent figure in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints . He was president of Brigham Young University from 1951 to 1971 and also oversaw the entire LDS Church Educational System. Prior to this, Wilkinson was a lawyer...
  
   and W. Cleon Skousen, ed., Brigham Young University: A School of Destiny (Provo: BYU Press, 1976) p. 449, 535