In Memoriam: M. Susan Taylor, Professor Emerita

Nov. 9, 1951–July 25, 2026

M. Susan Taylor, PhD, professor emerita and former senior associate dean at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business, died on Saturday, July 25, 2026, at the Gilchrist Center Towson due to complications of Alzheimer’s disease. She was 74.

Born and raised in Selma, Ala., she earned a master’s degree in Industrial Relations from Iowa State University in 1975 and a PhD in industrial/organizational psychology from Purdue University in 1978. Upon graduation, Taylor was the first female faculty member hired in the Graduate School of Business at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, where she worked until 1982. She then spent the next 35 years teaching and conducting research at the College of Business and Management (now the Robert H. Smith School of Business), where she retired in 2018. 

During her tenure at the College Park campus, Taylor served (twice) as chair of the Management and Organization department, as director of Center for Leadership, Innovation, and Change, and as senior associate dean and dean of faculty for the Smith School. Her scholarly work — codified in three books, seven book chapters, 45 research papers, 12 conference proceedings, and 77 scholarly presentations — focused on employee-organization relationships, fairness in performance management systems, and managing the challenges of organizational change. The quality and impact of this work led her to professional leadership roles including service as senior editor of the scientific journal Organization Science (2004-2014), editor of the Foundations of Organizational Science series, and membership on the editorial boards of key academic publications such as the Journal of Applied Psychology, Journal of Management, Journal of Organizational Behavior, Academy of Management Journal and Academy of Management Review. She was inducted into numerous professional associations, including the Society of Organizational Behavior, the Society of Human Resource Management Foundation Board, and the Personnel/Human Resource Research Group and was a fellow in the Academy of Management and the Society of Industrial/Organizational Psychology. 

Taylor was a prolific and empathetic mentor of students, having chaired or served on the dissertation committees of 64 doctoral candidates and participated in many nationally sponsored junior faculty consortia. Because she often combined rigorous data collection with organizational consultations, her practical experience designing and implementing large-scale organizational changes informed her research, service, and teaching. She was a frequently invited guest speaker and a knowledge domain expert in organizational consultancy for state and federal government agencies, public universities, and private organizations, including the Maryland Department of Motor Vehicles, Federal Aviation Agency, University of Texas at El Peso, University of Maryland, IBM, Black & Decker, and Northrop Grumman. She created and taught several popular MBA courses, including Executive Power and Negotiations and Managing Organizational Change. In recognition of this work, Taylor was named an ADVANCE Professor (2013-2014) and received a 2002-2003 Distinguished Scholar-Teacher award, the highest campus honor bestowed on University of Maryland faculty. 

Beyond her professional work, Taylor looked for opportunities to have fun. She relished travel and held visiting faculty appointments at the Amos Tuck School at Dartmouth College; the School of Business at University of Washington; Bocconi University in Milan, Italy (twice); the London Business School; and Poly-Technic University in Hong Kong. She trained for and completed a marathon in the late 1980s and earned Open Water Diver and Advanced Open Water Diver certifications in 2005 and 2011, respectively. With her partner, Jon Acton, she completed the 100-mile Sea Gull Century bicycle ride in 2008 on Maryland’s Eastern Shore and took numerous diving trips along the Florida coast, the Caribbean, and the Hawaiian Islands.

A healthy, cutting sense of humor was Taylor’s trademark from an early age when, in high school, her nickname was “Nit the Wit.” On one Ocean City trip, Acton marveled at the quantity of clothing and accessories Taylor was able to pack into one small saddlebag, filling nearly an entire armoire on arrival.  Her response, he remembers, perfectly captured her full life and adventurous spirit: “Well, ANYbody can travel light!”

Taylor was predeceased by her parents, Frances and Early Taylor, and is survived by Acton, her partner of 22 years; her younger brother Robert (Lisa) Taylor of Houston; nieces Sharon Taylor of Seattle and Lara (Patrick) of Colorado Springs; and beloved West Highland terrier, Dundee Ben Nevis. Burial services are private, although a Quaker memorial service will be held this fall at Gunpowder Friends Meeting, 14934 Priceville Road in Sparks, Md. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Disabled Veterans or to WETA in Washington, D.C.

Susan Taylor's memorial service will be held on November 9, 2026, at Gunpowder Friends Meeting, 14934 Priceville Road in Sparks, Maryland.