Women of Terre Haute (historical, biographical info, etc.)

1999 Indiana State University Homecoming: Among the five Distinguished Alumni honored at the Distinguished Alumni Award banquet on October 22 was Jill Fairhurst Taylor. An elementary school teacher at Lincoln Elementary in Brownsburg, Taylor earned both her bachelor's degree (1981) and master's degree (1985) from ISU. Noted for her commitment to teaching and her innovativeness in the classroom, Taylor was the first runner-up for the state Teacher of the Year Award in 1997 and has been presented with the Brownsburg Teacher of the Year Award. In addition, she has received the Shining Star Award from Channel 13 in Indianapolis and was nominated for a teaching award through Channel 6 in Indianapolis. Taylor also was the recipient of a Lilly grant in 1995 and a Lilly Creativity Fellowship in 1996. She is the published author of "The Empty Desk", a booklet for teachers who have terminally ill children in their classrooms. Since the death of one of her students, Tara Dunn, in 1994, part of Taylor's community service has involved volunteering some of her time with other terminally ill patients at Riley Hospital for Children.