Her Story
About Marian
Marian Howe Taylor is an experienced higher education and community leadership professional with a long-standing career at Salt Lake Community College, where she has served in a management role since 1999. Her background combines institutional leadership with human services and community-focused work, including student support services, diversity outreach, and the Beloved Community Project. She holds a master’s degree in Arts and Community Leadership from Westminster College, completed in 2016, and a bachelor’s degree in Human Services from Mount Ida College.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Marian
01What do you attribute your success to?
I attribute my success to the moment I grew up in, from the end of the 70s through the 90s with conversations around multiculturalism evolving into diversity, equity, and inclusion, and especially to my parents Theodore Howe and Ruth Arlene Howe who forged ahead to create change and showed me the possibilities.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
The best career advice came from my father who mentored me throughout my career and from Senator Paul Songas who taught that no job is too big or too small for the person in charge and that humility will get you further than being pompous.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
Meet the people where they are. If you have an interest in senior citizens, for example, go to the senior centers, introduce yourself, make relationships, listen to the stories, figure out what you can do to be of assistance. And definitely get a degree, whether at university or community college, and educate yourself in more than one way through relationships as well as book learning.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
The biggest challenge is keeping hope alive not only in myself but in those I come in contact with. It's difficult to see beyond where we are right now with challenges around ICE and immigration where students with green cards are swept up and thrown into cages, and the way diversity is becoming taboo and history is being erased.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
Faith in God is most important. It may stem from the fact that I'm African American and the church has been center wherever I have been. One of my mother's favorite scriptures always flows through my brain: God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of love, power, and a sound mind. That always stays with me and pushes me forward.
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