James Taylor, Poom Sunhachawi-Taylor, Dr. Driscoll

Dr. Driscoll, Poom Sunhachawi-Taylor, James Taylor

On May 4, 2023, Indiana University of Pennsylvania’s Council of Trustees approved naming a tennis court on the IUP Indiana campus in honor of a local alumni couple.

Trustees approved the naming of the James D. and Poom Sunhachawi-Tayor Tennis Court in honor of the couple’s long-time support of the IUP tennis program.

James Taylor is a 1986 safety sciences graduate; Poom Sunhachawi-Taylor is a 1987 political science graduate. Taylor was a three-year letterman on the men’s tennis team and was a finalist in number three doubles at the PSAC tournament; the couple met on the IUP tennis courts.

“Our alumni couples tell us that they have great regard for the education they received at IUP, but they are also very grateful to IUP as the place where they met their spouses and began their lives together,” IUP Vice President for University Advancement Khatmeh Osseiran-Hanna said. “We appreciate the Taylor’s generosity and continued support of our students and the tennis program.”

Taylor has spent 25 years working for Lockheed Martin and the United Space Alliance on the US Space Program both at Kennedy and Johnson Space Centers; Sunhachawi-Taylor went on to earn her master’s degrees in public administration and library science from the University of Central Florida and the University of North Texas, and she now volunteers in the community and serves on the Indiana Borough Council and Planning Commission.