Speaker: Dr. Jon Taylor
Topic: Fade to Blue: A 2018 Post-Election Analysis

Dr. Jon Taylor is a Professor of Political Science, Chair of the Department of Political Science, and Director of the Master of Public Policy and Administration Program at the University of St. Thomas in Houston. Born and raised in Dallas, he holds a BA, MA, and Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Oklahoma and has been at the University of St. Thomas since 1998. He was previously a professor at the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma from 1990 to 1998. He teaches a variety of courses on public administration and policy, as well as course on Chinese public administration and policy, urban politics, and quantitative methods.

He has both written and spoken extensively about the challenges of urbanization, Houston and Texas politics, China’s fight against corruption, and the role that Chinese political science can play in the discipline. His current research focuses on urban and suburban development, China’s online corruption accountability system, and comparative measurements of public corruption. His most recent publications include Between Sinification and Internationalization: Chinese Political Science in the Post-Reform Era (Chinese Political Science Review) and The China Dream is an Urban Dream: Assessing the CPC’s National New-Type Urbanization Plan (Journal of Chinese Political Science). He is currently writing a book examining the evolving role of public administration in China. He regularly contributes both opinion and analysis pieces to Chinese and U.S. media. He is a member of the American Political Science Association, the American Society for Public Administration, and the Association of Chinese Political Studies.

In addition to his academic and research pursuits, Dr. Taylor was fortunate enough to meet his Nebraska Cornhusker wife, Julie, on a blind date in Dallas. For some unfathomable reason, she agreed to marry him. And because God definitely has a sense of humor, their son Owen was born 6 days after Hurricane Ike in 2008. Dr. Taylor and his family currently reside in Spring.