Dr. Calvin Taylor (1915 - 2000) was a world-renowned leader in education, creativity, and the pursuit of multiple talents of all. Born and raised in Salt Lake City, Utah, he was proud of his strong Utah heritage and a member of the LDS Church. He lived in many parts of the country and traveled around the world, but he was always drawn home to Utah to teach and lead research efforts. During World War II, Dr. Taylor attained the position of Military Chief, Military Personnel Subsection, of the Army Personnel Research Program and was in charge of Army-wide Trade Testing including performance testing and skipping-of-training testing. As a reserve officer he was a mobilization designee to the Human Factors Research Division of the Office, Chief of Research and Development of the Army. He retired as a lt. Colonel.
Major Contributions
- Led National Science Foundation-funded conferences on scientific creativity (1950s-1960s)
- Founded the Institute for Behavioral Research in Creativity, Salt Lake City, Utah (1965)
- Received American Psychological Association's Richardson Creativity Award (1970)
- Developed and implemented the Multiple Creative Talent Teaching Approach.
Since 1946, he has worked in psychology at the University of Utah teaching various courses on measurement theory, factor analysis, statistical and research techniques, a workshop in constructing tailor-made tests and measures, personnel and industrial psychology, creativity, human engineering, architectural psychology, and multiple-talent teaching.
Dr. Taylor also chaired the World Conference on Gifted and Talents in Utah in the eighties. He led discussions on promoting the "Taylor Talent Totem Poles" that demonstrated that all children are gifted and can lead in multiple talents - creativity, memory, decision-making and other skills. He truly believed that teachers can foster children through a multiple talent approach where teaching can demonstrate that most students are above average.
More information on Calvin Taylor can be found here.
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