Honoring the Life and Legacy of Steven Taylor — Human Rights Scholar & Activist at SU

Glory

Greatness is not the goodness of a man
But the goodness he inspires in others.

Honesty is as beautiful technique as it is a virtue

~ Burton Blatt

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Today, we deeply mourn the passing of Steve Taylor, the Director of the Center on Human Policy, and Centennial Professor in the School of Education. Steve was a wise scholar and professor, a visionary leader, a passionate advocate, and a dear friend. A memorial service is being planned.

If not for his work and the the work of the Center on Human Policy, Law, and Disability Studies, those of us who have developmental disabilities or any other disability would not be living in the community and studying at SU today.

If not for the work of Steve, people with developmental disabilities would be still locked away in state institutions without any rights, power, or voice.

If not for his insistence on pausing coursework to fight for equal access for a few students with disabilities so they could participate equally in a graduate class he taught, the Beyond Compliance Coordinating Committee would have never come into fruition, which brought about a disability cultural revolution on campus with the creation of the Disability Cultural Center and the Disability Student Union.

If not for his work on deinstitutionalization, I might be locked away in a state institution because of my label of Cerebral Palsy.

If not for the disability cultural revolution that Steve set in motion, I would never have come to Syracuse University.

If not for Steve’s kind encouragement, I would have never become the Co-President of the Disability Student Union.

Without Steve, Syracuse University would not be the community that it is today.

While we mourn for his life, we will celebrate and embrace the diversity that he brought to SU and the world, and fight like hell for the rights of future generations.

~ Nick Holzthum

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Please send and share your condolences by mail to the Center on Human Policy, Syracuse University, 805 S Crouse Ave, Syracuse, NY 13244; by email to thechp@syr.edu; or via the Center’s Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/CenteronHumanPolicy. No phone calls, please.