By Jaleh Hagigh, staff
January 30, 2025
The grant from the William R. Kenan, Jr. Charitable Trust will support the university’s new HealthEU Center and create scholarships in the Nursing Fellows program to address critical healthcare workforce needs.
The William R. Kenan, Jr. Charitable Trust has continued its generous support of Elon University with a $500,000 grant to the university’s new HealthEU Center that will also create scholarships in the Nursing Fellows program.
Elon has set a $25 million fundraising goal to make the HealthEU Center a reality. To date, donors have contributed nearly $16 million to the project that will bring academic, wellness, campus recreation and fitness programs together under one roof to support student well-being and serve faculty and staff. Scheduled to open in summer 2026, the center will be located within Elon’s Innovation Quad, home to the university’s engineering and other STEM programs.
“We are honored to partner with President Connie Ledoux Book and university staff on this grant that will broaden the legacy of the grants in healthcare and nursing,” said Nancy J. Cable, executive director of the William R. Kenan, Jr. Charitable Trust. “We see Elon as an innovative and visionary institution and one that focuses on academic excellence and student well-being.”
The HealthEU Center is a central component of the university’s broader HealthEU initiative that focuses on six dimensions of health and wellness: community, emotional, purpose, financial, physical and social. The three-story facility will feature new classrooms, student-faculty research and engagement spaces, multiple floors for wellness and fitness activities and the Mark and Kim Tyson Counseling Center, which will provide space for individual and group therapy, as well as workshops and outreach programs.
Through coursework, workshops and training programs focused on health and wellness, the HealthEU Center will impact all students as they learn essential skills and practices to thrive on campus and throughout each stage of their lives.
The grant will also establish William R. Kenan, Jr. Nursing Fellows scholarships in Elon’s School of Health Sciences. The Nursing Fellows program is a selective merit-based program for academically talented students who are committed to pursuing careers in nursing and healthcare. Fellows spend four years working closely with faculty mentors exploring the many opportunities in the field of nursing and identifying ways to address health disparities in local and global communities and promote quality healthcare for all.
“One of the highest priorities for our trustees is to make grants to support healthcare workforce development in all four of the states we support, including North Carolina, Virginia, New York and Florida,” Cable said. “To be able to do that at Elon so close to the Trust headquarters is a special honor.”
The Kenan Trust has been a committed donor to Elon. In 2002, a $1.2 million grant endowed the William R. Kenan, Jr. Honors Fellows Scholarship that provides a four-year, full-tuition grant for the top Honors Fellow enrolling each fall. Kenan Honors Fellows also receive extensive enrichment opportunities, including leadership development, service-learning experiences, study abroad, research stipends and internships. The grant also named the William R. Kenan, Jr. Honors Pavilion in the Lambert Academic Village.
In addition, a $300,000 grant in 2015 helped launch Elon’s Kenan Community Impact Fellows program to address essential needs in the community, including literacy readiness for preschoolers and their families. The program builds upon the success of Elon’s “It Takes a Village” literacy project that pairs Elon students and faculty with students in the Alamance-Burlington School System.
“We are sincerely grateful for the William R. Kenan, Jr. Charitable Trust’s continued partnership and this significant investment in two of Elon’s top philanthropic priorities,” said Brian Feeley ’03, assistant vice president for university advancement. “Collaboration has always been at the heart of the Trust’s grantmaking, ensuring their generous support is both strategically aligned and effective.”
About the Trust
A North Carolina native, William R. Kenan, Jr. graduated from UNC-Chapel Hill with a degree in chemistry and was a chemist and industrialist with wide-ranging business interests. Upon his death in 1965, the William R. Kenan, Jr. Charitable Trust was created to further his strong interest in education.
The mission of the William R. Kenan, Jr. Charitable Trust, a New York perpetual trust based in Chapel Hill, is to empower human potential through education and whole community investment. The Trust’s grantmaking is generally centered in the four states of Florida, New York, North Carolina and Virginia. To learn more about the Kenan Trust, visit kenancharitabletrust.org.
HealthEU: Make An Impact
Many naming opportunities are available in the HealthEU Center, beginning at $50,000. Gift commitments may be made in full or with a pledge over a period of five years. To find out how you can make an impact with your gift, contact Brian Baker, associate vice president for university advancement, at 336.278.7453 or bbaker7@elon.edu.
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