Campus mourns chemistry professor

Bradley flags will fly half-staff for three days in honor of Bradley chemistry professor Max Taylor, who passed away early Tuesday morning.

In the fall of 1969, Taylor joined Bradley’s chemistry department. He had just completed his doctorate in physical chemistry from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, preceded by his bachelor of science degree in chemistry from Colorado College.

Taylor primarily taught General Chemistry, Environmental Chemistry and Chemistry and Civilization for the Non-Science Major, all while continuing his own work. He presented at more than 45 scientific presentations from local to national platforms, worked on more than 20 workshops for high school science teachers and presented demonstrations at the annual High School Chemistry Contest for nearly 20 years.

Taylor’s impact on his students was recognized with the Student Senate Academic Advisor of the Year award in 1993 and the Putnam Award for Teaching Excellence in 1998.

Department Chair Kurt Field said Taylor was a great resource and an even greater professor.

“In addition to being an excellent teacher and chemist, Max served as a constant source of information to his colleagues,” Field said. “He was so knowledgeable with respect to home repairs and autos that he could have co-starred on the TV shows ‘Car Talk’ or ‘This Old House.’”

Junior sports communication major Anthony Sperando said Taylor taught him a lot about how chemistry affects everyday life and today’s news in his Chemistry 300 class.

“Bradley will definitely have some big shoes to fill,” Sperando said. “[He] always had a positive attitude in class each day and truly cared about each of his students.”

Taylor’s work on the undergraduate and graduate levels extended beyond classroom lectures, as he served as an academic advisor for undergraduate chemistry seniors and a graduate advisor for the Masters in Liberal Arts students.

Junior engineering major Travis Reents echoed Sperando, saying his interaction with Taylor was life-changing.

“When I started out as a freshman, I had a very [difficult] time with engineering, and I wanted to drop my major and transfer somewhere else,” Reents said. “I would then talk with [him] about this, and he was one of the few people that could ever believe that I could graduate as an engineer. I am currently in engineering and every time I struggle in class, I just think to myself, ‘Dr. Taylor believed I can do this, so I must be able to do this.’”

