Jaime Taylor, Marshall University’s new provost and senior vice president for academic affairs, discussed future plans with the Office of Intercultural Affairs while meeting the office staff during a lunch Friday.

The lunch, hosted by Maurice Cooley and Lisa Allen of the Office of Intercultural Affairs, was aimed to help build a relationship with Marshall’s new provost.

“Our old provost worked very closely with us so it was important for [the office] to introduce Mr. Taylor to who we are and what we do,” Allen said.

Allen, who works as the Administrative Assistant in the Office of Intercultural Affairs, said she’s excited to start off the new year with Dr. Taylor.

“There are no strangers here,” Allen said. “We invite people in and make them a part of our family, so it was important for us to make [Dr. Taylor] feel welcome.”

Taylor, who began his new position in May, said he was anticipating a great school year as the new provost.

“Marshall has a huge number of positives,” Taylor said. “My first impression [of the school] is that this is a hidden secret.”

During the lunch, Taylor discussed his arrival at Marshall as well as his plans for the school year.

“Right now, I’m still in the learning stages but everything I’ve seen has been incredibly impressive,” Taylor said. “There is a lot of energy down here and you can do lots of things when people have energy.”

As possible opportunities for teamwork arises, Allen said she hopes the office and build a strong relationship with the new provost.

“One of our goals is to work closely with the provost so we’re sure to invite him to all of our events,” Allen said. “Maurice Cooley, associate vice president, always works very closely with the provost so I know the rest of the office will work very closely with him too.”

Taylor and members of the staff have already begun to discuss different opportunities for the future and both Cooley and the provost said they’re anticipating what’s to come.

“I’ve been very impressed with the structure and enthusiasm that Maurice Cooley has for this program,” Taylor said.

As for his upcoming plans, Taylor said his main goal is to help promote Marshall throughout the country.

“One of the things I would like to do is help identify what Marshall can offer to students and find different ways to get information out.”

While different areas of the country have varying opinions of Marshall, Taylor said he would like to change the conversation about Marshall and Huntington.

“I want to make sure that people really understand what is here at Marshall,” Taylor said. “There are some very special things here.”

Joelle Gates can be contacted at [email protected].