Taylor received her bachelor's and master's degrees from Ohio State University and her doctorate from Indiana. Before coming to KU she worked as an English teacher, counselor, and advisor. While at KU she established the first university commission on the status of women, hosted a radio show, "The Feminist Perspective", and was instrumental in creating Nunemaker Center for honors students and Hashinger Hall for fine arts students. She also helped create the Women's Resource and Career Planning Center, which was renamed in her honor in 1974. She was inducted into the KU Women's Hall of Fame in 1971. She died in 2004.
From the guide to the Personal Papers of Emily Taylor, 1956-1974, (University of Kansas Kenneth Spencer Research Library University Archives)