DAVID HARDEN/Arizona Daily Wildcat Vice president of Campus Life Saundra Taylor recently earned the UA Black Alumni Association's Phenomenal Woman of the Year award. Taylor has worked to foster a more diverse campus at the UA, drawing inspiration from her own life struggles.

Growing up as a black woman in the South, Saundra Taylor learned how divisive racial segregation could be.

She almost didn't marry her white husband because of the racial tension around them.

"My husband and I really worked hard at not getting married ... because we didn't know whether we could survive a racist kind of cult society," said Taylor, senior vice president of Campus Life.

But they ended up marrying in 1968, the same year Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated, realizing no amount of racial discrimination could keep them apart.

Drawing from her experiences and struggles, Taylor has tried to foster a more diverse campus at the UA, an effort that recently earned her the UA Black Alumni Association's Phenomenal Woman of the Year award.

Taylor said her awareness of discrimination spurred her desire to make changes wherever she works.

"I couldn't ignore it, and I needed to find ways to combat it, to challenge it," she said.

Her activism has had her supporting campus multicultural centers that provide services for underrepresented students at the UA. She is especially proud of her role in creating the Asian Pacific American Cultural/Resource Center.

"I think students of Asian Pacific descent really have issues in this culture with discrimination, with exclusion," she said. "One aspect they have to sometimes deal with is being viewed as the model minority."

Taylor said Asian students have the same difficulties and issues to deal with as other minority students.

"I admire her dedication to young people, her concerns for their well being and her approach to direction," said Gayle Hopkins, associate athletic director and president of the UA Black Alumni Association.

Hopkins said Taylor's willingness to listen to students is her hallmark. Taylor has been pivotal in improving diversity and education for minority students on campus, she said.

"The goal is to get them involved with all students with the purpose for sharing culture and ... information, removing ignorance and stamping out discrimination," Taylor said.

In addition to her efforts to increase diversity at the UA, Taylor has also played a behind-the-scenes role with the construction of new buildings, including the Student Union Memorial Center and the Disability Resource Center.

When she started at the UA, Taylor said buckets were used to catch rainwater in the old student union when the roof leaked during monsoon season.

"I said, 'We need a new union,'" Taylor said. "The students here and the community deserve a union that is going to meet the needs of 50,000 people."

Taylor also collaborated with officials at the DRC to design a new centralized building with all the amenities needed to support people with disabilities at the UA.

"It's something that I have supported and wanted. I knew it needed to consolidate all of the various places it was on the campus into one location," Taylor said.

The new DRC celebrated its grand opening Monday.

Taylor said she is proud of improving student services on campus, and was honored and humbled to learn that she was chosen for the award.

"In many ways, what they're recognizing me for is doing my job. And I really feel like I believe in what I do, and I'm committed to it. It just feels like icing on the cake to have somebody say, 'Hey, you're a phenomenal woman for doing that.'"

President Peter Likins said he is proud of Taylor and her achievements.

"This recognition is well-earned and much-deserved. I look forward to a public celebration ... when she is recognized by our Black Alumni Association," he said.

The 2004 Phenomenal Woman Award Dinner will commence tonight at 6 in the Grand Ballroom.