Professor of Architecture and Urban Design
University of Pennsylvania School of Design
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Marilyn Taylor became dean of the School of Design at the University of Pennsylvania in 2008 after spending more than 30 years as partner, architect, and urban designer at Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, where she led the firm’s practices in airports, transportation, and urban design and served as its first woman chairman. She is internationally known for her distinguished and passionate involvement in the design of large-scale urban projects and civic initiatives.

Taylor is distinguished as well for her civic and professional leadership, having served as a member and Rockefeller Fellow of the Partnership for New York City, president of the American Institute of Architects (New York City chapter), visiting professor at the Harvard Graduate School of Design, chairman of the New York Building Congress, founding (2001) member of New York New Visions, and chairman of ULI Worldwide (2005−2007). Taylor attended Harvard University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Graduate School of Architecture, and the University of California at Berkeley, where she received her master’s degree in architecture.

PennDesign provides master’s and PhD degrees to outstanding students in the fields of architecture, landscape architecture, city and regional planning, historic preservation, and the fine arts.