The Edna Anderson-Taylor Communication Institute
A Space for
Collaboration
Jessica Guynn
On April 12, 2022, the College of Humanities’ Department of Communication accepted the largest donation in its history. Thanks to Edna Anderson-Taylor (Class of 1959) and her husband, Jerry Taylor, the University of Utah Communication Institute celebrated its 25th anniversary with an additional $1 million in funding to support its mission of connecting people and ideas. The institute will now be known as the Edna Anderson-Taylor Communication Institute in gratitude for this generous gift and in recognition of Anderson-Taylor’s legacy as a pioneer in the field.
Many may remember Anderson-Taylor first as “Miss Julie” from the children’s television series, Romper Room, which aired on
KSL-TV from 1963- 1980, but her experience in broadcast began at the University of Utah. She was an undergraduate in communication when the department first launched the public television station KUED in January 1958. She fondly recalls building a rudimentary studio alongside other students and professors in the basement of Libby Gardner Hall. “It seemed like everything was stuck together with Scotch tape,” she laughs.
The crew began broadcasting with only two cameras and a boom mic. Anderson-Taylor learned how to run the equipment, produce content, and communicate with an audience. “I worked hard and learned how to do every job in that studio,” she says.
Anderson-Taylor went on to become the first face of KUED, introducing local live segments between broadcasts of national PBS telethons. This was a milestone in public broadcasting as there were then no other female announcers in the United States. By the time she graduated with a bachelor’s degree, Anderson-Taylor had mastered the multi-layered art of public communication. “You need versatility, curiosity, and a strong work ethic to be an effective communicator,” she advises. “Oh, and leave your ego at the door.”
Sean Lawson, professor of communication and current director of the institute, says he’s grateful for Anderson-Taylor’s example and the legacy reflected by the institute that now bears her name.
“The opportunity to name and endow the Edna Anderson-Taylor Communication Institute puts the U on the map in a really significant way. We now have the first named communication institute in Utah, the surrounding states, and most of our peer universities. Even more, we are named after a female pioneer in the field. Thanks to the generosity of Edna and Jerry, the incredible work we do in communication at the U will be more accessible to the campus, the community, and far beyond.”
The Board of Trustees originally established the institute in 1997 to develop and promote scholarship in the field through innovative research, state-of-the-art workshops, lectures, and symposia. With funds from Anderson-Taylor’s endowment, the institute will continue to host keynotes, seminars, and community panels about the art of communication and its role in contemporary culture. Lawson also plans to offer student and faculty awards for
excellence and to sponsor scholarly content for the institute website. He believes the Anderson-Taylor Institute will be a hub of collaboration between students, faculty, and the community.
“The institute creates virtual, intellectual, and physical space for people to meet and have conversations,” says Avery Holton, Department of Communication chair and former director of the institute. In addition to community events and enhanced online content, the institute will soon enjoy a refreshed gathering space in the Languages and Communication Building at the heart of campus. Holton, who holds a doctoral certification in disabilities studies, believes that physical spaces can communicate just as powerfully as words or sounds. “If you had seen the old space, it was dated and dark. It could be a problem for people with disabilities.” Now the space features fresh carpet to provide more traction for those with mobility issues and white walls to reflect sunlight in case of impaired vision. “Inclusivity can be as simple as turning the front desk to face the door,” says Holton. It offers each person who enters the building the opportunity to be welcomed with a smile.
The upcoming months will bring further enhancements, beginning with a project to knock down dividing walls in favor of a larger
gathering space. Holton notes that the project is a good metaphor for the mission of the Anderson-Taylor institute. “We want to signal that as a community we need to be connected and engaged.” The remodeled space is made possible by funds from the department and multiple donors including the Anderson-Taylor grant. It will take an estimated eight months to complete. When finished, Holton hopes the enlarged area will advance the multifaceted mission of the institute with enough space for big events as well as dividers to facilitate smaller discussions.
“
Communication is the beginning of everything. It’s the basic underlying tool that we use in every field. If you can’t communicate you can’t succeed.
Edna Anderson-Taylor is certain that the institute, and its mission of encouraging digital and in-person conversations, will continue to play an important role in building community through the art of communication. To her, its role couldn’t be more vital. “Communication is the beginning of everything. It’s the basic underlying tool that we use in every field. If you can’t communicate you can’t succeed. It’s the way we attach ourselves to other human beings.”
In addition to her recent gift, in 1998 Anderson-Taylor and husband Jerry Taylor established a need-based scholarship for talented students at the University of Utah with an interest in communication. Now the funds provide full tuition and fees for seven scholars annually. This year she was able to meet the recipients and hear their stories. “Personal connection is really important,” says Anderson-Taylor. “It’s the flavor of living.”
The Edna Anderson-Taylor Communication Institute
Space for Collaboration
Jessica Guynn
On April 12, 2022, the College of Humanities’ Department of Communication accepted the largest donation in its history. Thanks to Edna Anderson-Taylor (Class of 1959) and her husband, Jerry Taylor, the University of Utah Communication Institute celebrated its 25th anniversary with an additional $1 million in funding to support its mission of connecting people and ideas. The institute will now be known as the Edna Anderson-Taylor Communication Institute in gratitude for this generous gift and in recognition of Anderson-Taylor’s legacy as a pioneer in the field.
Many may remember Anderson-Taylor first as “Miss Julie” from the children’s television series, Romper Room, which aired on KSL-TV from 1963- 1980, but her experience in broadcast began at the University of Utah. She was an undergraduate in communication when the department first launched the public television station KUED in January 1958. She fondly recalls building a rudimentary studio alongside other students and professors in the basement of Libby Gardner Hall. “It seemed like everything was stuck together with Scotch tape,” she laughs.
The crew began broadcasting with only two cameras and a boom mic. Anderson-Taylor learned how to run the equipment, produce content, and communicate with an audience. “I worked hard and learned how to do every job in that studio,” she says.
Anderson-Taylor went on to become the first face of KUED, introducing local live segments between broadcasts of national PBS telethons. This was a milestone in public broadcasting as there were then no other female announcers in the United States. By the time she graduated with a bachelor’s degree, Anderson-Taylor had mastered the multi-layered art of public communication. “You need versatility, curiosity, and a strong work ethic to be an effective communicator,” she advises. “Oh, and leave your ego at the door.”
Sean Lawson, professor of communication and current director of the institute, says he’s grateful for Anderson-Taylor’s example and the legacy reflected by the institute that now bears her name.
“The opportunity to name and endow the Edna Anderson-Taylor Communication Institute puts the U on the map in a really significant way. We now have the first named communication institute in Utah, the surrounding states, and most of our peer universities. Even more, we are named after a female pioneer in the field. Thanks to the generosity of Edna and Jerry, the incredible work we do in communication at the U will be more accessible to the campus, the community, and far beyond.”
The Board of Trustees originally established the institute in 1997 to develop and promote scholarship in the field through innovative research, state-of-the-art workshops, lectures, and symposia. With funds from Anderson-Taylor’s endowment, the institute will continue to host keynotes, seminars, and community panels about the art of communication and its role in contemporary culture. Lawson also plans to offer student and faculty awards for excellence and to sponsor scholarly content for the institute website. He believes the Anderson-Taylor Institute will be a hub of collaboration between students, faculty, and the community.
“The institute creates virtual, intellectual, and physical space for people to meet and have conversations,” says Avery Holton, Department of Communication chair and former director of the institute. In addition
to community events and enhanced online content, the institute will soon enjoy a refreshed gathering space in the Languages and Communication Building at the heart of campus. Holton, who holds a doctoral certification in disabilities studies, believes that physical spaces can communicate just as powerfully as words or sounds. “If you had seen the old space, it was dated and dark. It could be a problem for people with disabilities.” Now the space features fresh carpet to provide more traction for those with mobility issues and white walls to reflect sunlight in case of impaired vision. “Inclusivity can be as simple as turning the front desk to face the door,” says Holton. It offers each person who enters the building the opportunity to be welcomed with a smile.
The upcoming months will bring further enhancements, beginning with a project to knock down dividing walls in favor of a larger gathering space. Holton notes that the project is a good metaphor for the mission of the Anderson-Taylor institute. “We want to signal that as a community we need to be connected and engaged.” The remodeled space is made possible by funds from the department and multiple donors including the Anderson-Taylor grant. It will take an estimated eight months to complete. When finished, Holton hopes the enlarged area will advance the multifaceted mission of the institute with enough space for big events as well as dividers to facilitate smaller discussions.
Edna Anderson-Taylor is certain that the institute, and its mission of encouraging digital and in-person conversations, will continue to play an important role in building community through the art of communication. To her, its role couldn’t be more vital. “Communication is the beginning of everything. It’s the basic underlying tool that we use in every field. If you can’t communicate you can’t succeed. It’s the way we attach ourselves to other human beings.”
In addition to her recent gift, in 1998 Anderson-Taylor and husband Jerry Taylor established a need-based scholarship for talented students at the University of Utah with an interest in communication. Now the funds provide full tuition and fees for seven scholars annually. This year she was able to meet the recipients and hear their stories. “Personal connection is really important,” says Anderson-Taylor. “It’s the flavor of living.”
Author's Note - Miss Julie and Me
When I was four, I didn’t know that Edna Anderson-Taylor was a pioneer in broadcast television. To me she was simply “Miss Julie” and I loved her. Every weekday of 1978, I assumed my cross-legged position on the carpet and waited for her to light up the room.
Anderson-Taylor had filled the role since 1963 when she learned that Romper Room was doing a casting call in Salt Lake City. Her friend, Howard Pearson, was a TV editor at the Deseret News, and urged her to audition. But when she called to put her name on the list, the studio was already swarming with hopefuls. Her late husband Jack urged her to show up anyway. Though last in a line of 179 ladies, she got the job and became Miss Julie for 17 years.
In each episode, a group of six lucky children joined her. Anderson-Taylor says she loved working with the children as they learned to communicate on a show that was “by, for, and about them.” She watched new “friends” grow in confidence as they observed more experienced peers and trusted her as a teacher.
If my 4-year-old self had known that Miss Julie and her classroom were right here in Salt Lake City, I would have begged to join her, but to me it seemed like some faraway place filled with lovely games, good stories, and music, lots of music. Yet there was one magical moment at the end of each show where a bridge might materialize between our two worlds.
“Romper bomper stomper boo, tell me, tell me, tell me do, Magic Mirror, please tell me today, did all my friends have fun at play?” After chanting this rhyme, Miss Julie looked into the camera and read names of kids from the other side of the screen, just like me. It was my one chance to inhabit her world for an instant, and I uttered many silent, vocal, and urgent pleas that she would say that magical word: Jessica.
This story had a sad ending until April 18, 2022, when I called Edna Anderson-Taylor for a phone interview and finally heard Miss Julie say my name. She was even more delightful than I’d imagined as a child. A memory and a wish had found me more than 40 years later. It was a testament to the power of communication that they had lasted so long. I thought of the girl in front of her TV and smiled.