The Strand sat down with Professor David Wright—the Kenneth and Patricia Taylor Distinguished Professor of Foreign Affairs—to discuss the legacy left by his friend and colleague, Kenneth Taylor, both in Canada and at Vic.
To the outside world, Mr. Taylor was known as a heroic and courageous diplomat. When recalling the hostage crisis of 1979, Professor Wright states that Taylor “showed tremendous courage, was very decisive, and exercised remarkable judgment.” Nevertheless, Wright also stresses that these events “never changed [Taylor] fundamentally.” Despite appearing in the spotlight for many decades, Wright consistently highlights Taylor’s friendly and informal character, which stayed with him throughout his life.
At Victoria College, Taylor played a significant role in the creation of the Vic One program. “He was always enormously enthusiastic about Victoria University,” Wright recalled over the phone. “Ken cared very much about education.” Taylor understood the importance of students learning from someone with first-hand experience and knowledge of foreign affairs. Wright spent 30 years in the Foreign Service, making him an ideal candidate for the job.
To Wright, Ken Taylor was not only a colleague, “he was definitely a mentor and an incredibly helpful one.” Of course, Taylor’s tutelage benefitted more people than just Wright. His work has left a lasting legacy in both the Canadian Foreign Service and at Victoria University.
On this legacy, Wright summarized: “Sometimes you have to make decisions that involve challenges and risks, and I think it brought home to [Canadians], in a very vivid way, the importance of a diplomatic profession.”
For an accurate depiction of the events that occurred in 1979, Professor Wright suggests students both read and watch the film adaptation of Our Man in Tehran by Robert Wright.
Image courtesy of the Canadian Press
