Colleges

Black Greekdom Mourns the Passing of Morehouse’s Interim President / Kappa Alpha Psi Brother, William Taggart

The Black fraternity and sorority is currently mourning the passing of William Taggart the interim President of Morehouse College in Atlanta.

According to reports, Taggart passed away after suffering an aneurysm, although an autopsy is still to be conducted to determine the exact cause of death.

An Atlanta native, Taggart received his BBA from Howard University and joined Kappa Alpha Psi’s Xi Chapter there in 1982. He later received an MBA from Harvard Business School.

He was the former president and CEO of Atlanta Life Financial Company and before that was the chief operating officer for the Office of Federal Student Aid (FSA), where according to Morehouse’s website, he increased federal student aid from $96 billion to $150 billion annually – affecting 15 million college students. He also worked for Wachovia Corporation for 13 years and IBM Corporation for 11 years.

Taggart took over for John Wilson as intermin President of Morehouse College in March but had been the campus’ chief operating officer since July of 2015.

On Thursday morning, the Morehouse College Board of Trustees released the following statement regarding his death.

“We are deeply saddened by the sudden passing of Interim President William J. “Bill” Taggart, a beloved colleague, father and friend. For the past two years, Bill devoted himself wholeheartedly to Morehouse College. We are eternally grateful for his loyal support, counsel, and the leadership he provided to students, faculty, and alumni. Throughout his tenure, Bill had a positive impact on Morehouse College and the Greater Atlanta business community. He leaves behind a long legacy of compassion, integrity and devotion. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family at this time.”

We ask that you keep Taggart’s family, friends, students and fraternity brothers in your thoughts. We also ask that you leave your condolences and memories of him in the comment section below so that his family can see how much he meant to all of us.