Ralph Taylor

Fans of Boilermaker basketball likely know the voice of Ralph Taylor. For the last 13 seasons, he has been the radio color analyst for the Purdue University men's team. It's a fitting role for Taylor, who was a member of the 1969 Big Ten championship and NCAA runner-up team. In 1995, he was selected as one of the top four all-time fan favorite players in Purdue basketball history.

A gifted athlete who was inducted into the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame in 2001, Taylor has also made a name for himself as a champion for diversity and inclusion in professional roles away from the microphone. As a former program officer for the Central Indiana Community Foundation, he launched the Sam H. Jones Creating Greater Awareness Forum to highlight the issues, challenges, and concerns facing Indianapolis' shadow populations, including Asian, West Indian, Middle Eastern, American Indian, and Eastern European, among others. In addition, Taylor has served in the Mayor's Office of International and Cultural Affairs; was co-director of Welcoming Indianapolis; served as director of community service for the Indiana Youth Institute; and was an educator for the Purdue Cooperative Extension Service and Indianapolis Public Schools.

Taylor has also made a lasting local impact through his advocacy, volunteer work, and civic engagement. As a founding board member of the Immigrant Welcome Center in Indianapolis, Taylor gives a voice to the city's newcomer communities by connecting them to resources critical to building a successful foundation. In 2010, he received the inaugural Diversity and Inclusion Champion Award from the YMCA of Greater Indianapolis for his work with the Chin Community of Indiana, Exodus Refugees Immigration Inc., and the African Center of Indianapolis, among others.

Taylor is past president of the Rotary Club of Indianapolis and the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame Board of Directors. He currently serves on the IUPUI Board of Advisors and the Big Ten Commission, and has previously served on the boards of the American Indian Center of Indiana, the Asian-American Alliance of Indiana, the United Way of Central Indiana Committee on Diversity, the IPS Education Foundation, the Indianapolis Arts Council, and Coburn Place.

Taylor received his bachelor's degree in health and kinesiology from Purdue University. He is a lifetime member of the Purdue Alumni Association, as well as a John Purdue Club member. He has previously served on the Athletic Advisory Committee and the College of Health and Human Sciences Alumni Board.