Taylor earned a master's degree from Kentucky Wesleyan and was the school's president from 1906 to 1909.

After Taylor arrived at Northwest, his predecessor Homer Martien Cook continued living in the President's house for four months, so the school had two de facto presidents during this period.

Taylor addressed numerous fiscal problems at the young university including paying back salaries to faculty (even though he went without himself).

He also settled the squabbles that had halted construction on the Administration Building which opened in December 1910 during his watch.

[5] Prior to his arrival it was the Carlisle Military Academy and he was attracted to the school because his son-in-law Josiah Jernigan Godbey as head master.