Amid the laughter and back-slapping that usually accompanies the passing of a great humanitarian, a feeling of somber pride emanated from the group who knew the creator of the TOPS program best.
In observance of Arbor Day, the University dedicated a live oak tree in Free Speech Alley Friday to the memory of Patrick F. Taylor, the father of the TOPS program who died last November. He was 67 years old.
Since its inception in 1998, TOPS has allowed 136,000 students to enter universities in Louisiana. Twenty other states have also adopted programs modeled after TOPS.
In a ceremony dedicating the massive oak tree, Taylor’s life was repeatedly compared to the tree itself.
“This tree was growing at the time that Patrick Taylor was a student here, and it is a perfect representation to the man that he was,” said William Jenkins, president of the LSU system and interim chancellor of the University. “This tree is a symbol of strength, firmness and the ability to remain deeply rooted in principle.”
Taylor, the only billionaire from Louisiana according to Forbes Magazine, had a passion for seeing America’s young people educated. He developed the TOPS program in order to ensure Louisiana students had a chance to achieve a higher education in spite of their financial situation.
Before creating TOPS, Taylor spoke at a predominantly black school and promised each student a free college education if he worked hard enough to maintain a B average.
The mother of one of these students said in a 60 Minutes interview about Taylor that she could not believe a rich, white man wanted to help poor, black children the way Taylor did.
“I didn’t believe him at first either, but Taylor was a man of his word,” said Harry Lee, Jefferson Parish sheriff. “I don’t know if he ever realized it, but the TOPS program revolutionized education in the United States,” Lee said.
Lee said that before Taylor’s plan, state’s were only responsible for educating children through high school. TOPS changed that.
“He had a passion for education. He was the finest man I ever knew,” said Owen Wall, Taylor’s chemistry lab partner when they attended the University more than 50 years ago.
In 1996, Taylor established the Taylor Awards Program, which allows high school students to visit the Aquarium of the Americas, the New Orleans Museum of Art and Audubon Zoo free of charge, as an incentive to encourage students to meet TOPS standards.
More than 945,000 people have earned their membership to this program since its creation.
In addition to his fight for education, Taylor was a proponent of law enforcement and the military.
“Every year, he would invite 2,000 officers to his ranch in Mississippi, and he fed every last one of them,” said Jim Wharton, a former University chancellor and a close friend to Taylor.
But throughout his life, Taylor’s primary goal was to help children.
“He felt he was put on this planet to ensure that young people had a means to achieve an education,” said his wife Phyllis Taylor. “He was a beautiful man and every bit as unique as this magnificent tree.”
Patrick Taylor was a man who touched many and left them all feeling a little better for it.
“To think that this humble man — who hitchhiked to LSU with only change in his pocket — was able to do so much for the people of Louisiana is mind-blowing,” said Fred Dent, Taylor’s life-long friend and Alpha Tau Omega fraternity brother. “I am glad to see the University has preserved his memory with such a beautiful tree.”