Winnie F. Taylor, professor of law at Cornell University since 1990, has been appointed associate provost, President Hunter Rawlings and Provost Don M. Randel announced on May 1.

In her new post, Taylor will assume duties and responsibilities of Joycelyn R. Hart, associate vice president for human relations, who is retiring from university service on June 30. Hart had deferred her retirement at Rawlings' request during the period of administrative transition.

Taylor will lead the Cornell Office of Equal Opportunity and Office of Human Relations and serve as the university's chief affirmative action officer. As associate provost, she also will work on issues that affect academic personnel and programs.

Rawlings, with the support of Provost Randel, will recommend the appointment to the Executive Committee of the Board of Trustees at its meeting in Ithaca on May 24.

"I am very pleased that we were able to find among our tenured faculty a person with Winnie Taylor's legal expertise, leadership in a broad spectrum of underrepresentation issues and demonstrated vision for pluralism in academe as well as employment, " Rawlings said. "I would also like to extend my appreciation to Joycelyn Hart for postponing her retirement and for her fine and dedicated service to Cornell in a variety of positions since 1970." Randel said, "Winnie Taylor's legal background is especially suited to the new associate provost position because of the growing legal responsibility associated with the human relations post. We will build and emphasize faculty leadership in establishing a good human relations climate on campus."

In her new post, Randel added, Taylor will report directly to the president and work closely with the provost, executive staff, deans, administrators, staff and students. She will advise on emerging issues of pluralism among faculty, staff and students, and work with them to study human relations issues and develop and implement approaches toward the university's vision for pluralism.

Taylor has served as a consultant on equal employment opportunity and equal credit opportunity laws to such groups as the Federal Reserve Board, the Credit Union National Association and the American Bankers Association since 1978. She directed the Southeast Regional Counsel on Legal Education Opportunities (CLEO) Program during the summer of 1984; that year she was appointed to the Sexual Harassment Task Force at the University of Florida at Gainesville, where she was a faculty member from 1979 to 1990, appointed full professor in 1984.

Taylor served in 1990 as a member of the Visiting Committee examining affirmative action at Cornell. She joined the Cornell faculty as professor of law in July 1990 and was elected to the Faculty Council of Representatives in 1992. She teaches employment discrimination law, among other courses.

A native of Shreveport, La., Taylor is a 1972 graduate of Grambling State University with a major in political science. She earned her J.D. in 1975 from the State University of New York School of Law at Buffalo and LL.M. from the University of Wisconsin School of Law in 1979. Her publications range from law journals and reviews to banking and popular magazines.