Taylor Hall

427 Lorch Street

Built in 1951

Taylor Hall initially served as a dormitory for staff, including interns, for nearby medical facilities. In 1963, it became the home of the Department of Occupational Therapy and, later, the Department of Psychiatry. The Department of Agricultural Economics first occupied the building in 1983, when it was renamed to recognize Professor Henry Charles Taylor, the founder of the subject of agricultural economics. The department, now called the Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics, was the first such specialized department in the world. The department is continually evolving and expanding beyond its original focus on issues of land, forests, and farm management to address the needs of students, the state, the nation, and the world. With research, teaching, and outreach focused on environmental and resource economics, agricultural economics, international development, and community economic development, the department’s faculty, staff, and students address some of the world’s most pressing current problems.

Taylor Hall also houses the Center for Cooperatives. The center seeks to increase understanding and encourage critical thinking about cooperatives — organizations owned and operated by those using its services ­— by fostering scholarship and mutual learning among academics, the cooperative community, policymakers, and the public. Other units housed here are the Center for Dairy Profitability, the Center for Community and Economic Development, and the Renk Agribusiness Institute.