Marilyn Jordan Taylor is Professor of Architecture and Urban Design in the Department of City and Regional Planning. She was Dean of the School of Design from 2008-2016. She is recognized worldwide as a thought leader in urban design, as well as a woman pioneer in the fields of architecture, planning, and construction. A Partner in Charge of the Urban Design and Planning Practice at Skidmore Owings and Merrill, LLP (SOM) and the first woman to serve as Chairman of SOM, she is internationally known for her distinguished and passionate involvement in the design of large-scale urban projects and civic initiatives. Over a thirty-five-year career with SOM, she led many of the firm’s largest and most complex projects around the world. She was also both the first architect and the first woman to serve as chairman (2005-07) of the Urban Land Institute, a non-profit research and educational institution, where she championed a renewed focus on cities, sustainable communities, and infrastructure investment.