Glen Laird Taggart was born on January 16, 1914 in Lewiston Utah, a small town north of Logan Utah, to James and Valeria Ann Laird Taggart. He was married in 1940, to Phyllis Paulsen and passed away on August 10, 1997 in Logan Utah.



Taggart was the eleventh president of USU. However, he also served in various positions involved in international education and agricultural development including Chief of the Technical Collaboration Division of the Department of Foreign Agricultural Service, then in 1956 he became the first Dean of International Studies Program at Michigan State University (MSU), and in 1964-1966 when he served as the President of the University of Nigeria. Later in his life he was involved with the Department of State in International Development until about 1982. Then until 1992 he was a senior program consultant for W.K. Kellogg foundation and helped establish the Agricultural College of the Humid Tropics (Escuela de Agricultural de la Region Tropical Humeda or EARTH) that opened in Costa Rica in the fall of 1990. EARTH university is still in operation today. Taggart also served as a Member of the Utah Board of Regents of Higher Ed.