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Show Scene 77 THURSDAY, SEPT. 1. 1977 - Z? The Life And Tim es Of Glen L Taggart altered to Germany, and Taggart was assigned to Chemnitz, now Karl Marx Stadt in East Germany, not far from Prague, Czechoslovakia, where Glen's brother already was serving a mission. Glen was transferred again, to the Czech Mission where he spent three and years, staying longer than Ed. Note:. The following article by Mr. Chaffin is reprinted by permission from the Deseret News. By Lavor K. Chaffin Deseret News education editor Growing up in Utah's beautiful Cache Valley, young Glen Taggart's first aspiration naturally was to become a dairy farmer. By the time he was 16 (in 1930) he already had a good start on that career. He owned a herd of eight Holstein cows and a bull on his father's farm at Lewiston, almost astride the Utah-Idah- o border. "About that time," the current Utah State University president remembers, "modernization of dairy farms was beginning to occur. One night father (James Taggart) and I sat down to talk it over, and we decided we'd better not make the big investment it would one-ha- -- lf usual due to his exceptional fluency with the language. "THE EXPERIENCE in Czechoslovakia influenced my life greatly," Taggart says. It also met his language requirement when he enrolled for a doctoral degree at the University of Wisconsin after graduation from USU. The Czech years, he explains, created a deep interest in international affairs which has persisted all his life. In 1943 he began a career with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, serving first as a rural sociologist. Then he joined the department's Foreign Agricultural Service, ing chief of its Technical Collaboration Division. He worked on agricultural ar take." SETTLING BACK in his chair and after a moment's reflection, the tall, trim educator wonders "if it was a PRESIDENT OF BOLIVIA Pres. Glen Taggart, Utah State University, sits between the former president of Bolivia, Rene Barrientos, and former Gov. Calvin Rampton when the Bolivian official visited Utah State several years ago. problems in the Columbia Basin and in central and South America. He was a member of an interdepartmental committee to develop plans for sharing U.S. technological and scientific competence, with less developed nations. "We worked weekends and nights for eight months or more," he remem- wise decision. I think I might have been a good farmer." There's no doubt that Taggart would have been a good farmer. But if he had remained with his dairy herd in Cache Valley, many places scattered widely throughout the world would have missed his helpful hand. A twice altered mission call for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-da- y Saints set Glen Taggart on an international career that has taken him to scores of nations on all the continents. At first, the young man who had graduated as student body president from North Cache High School was called to the church's Western States Mission. But young Taggart already had a new goal, a university doctoral degree which would require mastery of a foreign language. The call was ! In his agricultural role he had worked closely with John Hanna, president of Michigan State Univer-- , sity, and P.V. Cardon (father of he was appointed president of USU in 1968. During this period he took a two-yeleave of absence to serve as president of the University of Nigeria from 1964 to 1965. "We felt it was incumbent on American higher education not only to send abroad projects, but to see if we couldn't develop academic offerings which would concentrate on areas vital to international affairs," he says. The Michigan years found Taggart deeply involved in the development of educational programs virtually around the world. At a reception at USU, Taggart met students from 67 foreign nations. Lucybeth Cardon Rampton), who were of a Department of Grant College comAgricultur-Lan- d mittee. The Taggarts visited the Michigan State campus and liked what they saw. They flew home to Washington and waited. The word soon came: "We can't offer you as much money, but we can offer you a full fellowship." bers. THEN CAME another major turning point. "Phyllis (Mrs. Taggart, the former Phyllis Paulsen of Logan) and I started to thinking that if we wanted to return to education we'd better do it soon, or we'd spend the rest of our lives in government." this time, of course, Taggart was in a government "supergrade" with a good salary. "MANY COUNTRIES now have higher education institutions they may ar SO TAGGART took the cut in pay, and became a Michigan State professor of sociology in.1953. In 1956, because of his international experience, he was By they will find the U.S. contributed significantly both ideologically, economically and materially. named dean of international studies and programs, a position he held until not have had except for the development work of U.S. colleges, universities and foundations. "I'm rather proud to have been a part of this development." Taggart also is proud of USU, Cache Valley and Utah. "I have a very high regard for USU," he says. "It's the kind of an institution that intrigues me. It's the right size, has the right heritage and - it's dynamic. It has enterprising individuals, both students and faculty members." After traveling "THERE WERE only three with whom I could not talk about their homeland from first-han- d experience, and with most I could talk about their own communities," he says. Taggart still is active in international affairs, retiring only this year after serving nine years as chairman of the : International Affairs Committee of the National Association of State and Land Grant Colleges and Universities. He's recently been to Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore and Manila and helped with an educational study in Sudan. Vj J'I think that the U.S., despite-everythin- g anybody says, has made a tremendous contribution to educational development, around the world," Taggart says. "When history books look back at the 1950s and 1960s, they will chronicle more educational development than in any other period... and Sept. 10 Sept. 17 Sept. 24 Oct. Oct. Oct. Oct. Nov. Nov. Nov. Nov. 1 8 15 29 5 12 19 26 support the development of its human resources, its children. No other place that I know of makes higher education almost a right." y THE UNIVERSITY president also has great confidence in today's college student. "You just have to be impressed with their (the students') intelligence, their sense, ot fairness and their drive to improve. They work hard, they put out -- a lot,-t- t has to be encouraging," he says. Education, he counsels, is the ele- ment that makes mobility possible. "Anyone who has the desire, the competence and the will can make something of themselves." til a.m. p.m. p.m. p.m. p.m. p.m. 1:00 p.m. at Colorado State Game Sponsors p.m. p.m. p.m. p.m. - I -- in J J '. i J z i Warm-U- p CACHE VALLEY DAIRY ASSN. THE EMPORIUM FIRST FEDERAL SAVINGS TRAVEL CHALET FRENCH AND AMERICAN foreign assistance officials met at Utah State University to consider plans for improving livestock production in Cameroon in central Africa. With USU President Glen L. Taggart, center, are Howard Helman, USAID coordinator for Africa, left, and Paul Lachaux, French Ministry of Cooperation. AND LOAN LOGAN FURNITURE DEALERS .,. Crystal Furniture Edwards Furniture ,., Lundstrom Furniture U & Furniture Post-Gam- e WESTERN GENERAL .... ............. I STATE FARM INSURANCE AGENTS David B. Allen Stan Allen DAIRIES WILSON MOTOR Scoreboard BRIDGERLAND SQUARE Theral V. Bishop George E. William Jeppesen L. Rich Century 21 Realty Services Macy's Farmers Market All broadcasts begin 25 minutes before kickoff with Alan Lewis. , to-'-- , 1977 USU FOOTBALL SAN JOSE STATE 1:30 at Memphis State 6:30 BYU 12:50 at San Diego State 8:30 at Penn State 11:30 at Utah 1:30 BOISE STATE 1:00 at Weber State 1:30 WYOMING 1:00 at Idaho State 8:00 around the world, Taggart says the most impressive thing about Utah "is its willingness USU PRESIDENT Glen I.. Taggart relates his experiences in Holland with Mr. H.F. van den Brock, vice consul for cultural affairs for the Netherlands government. Mr. van den Broek visited Utah State to promote education about his country. . . |