By Jaleh Hagigh, staff
February 11, 2025
Grateful for the life-changing education Elon has given their son Julian ’25, Ashley and Gail Taylor P’25 have generously supported the university’s new health and wellness facility and scholarships to help bring talented students to campus.
Elon Parents Council members Ashley and Gail Taylor P’25, of Richmond, Virginia, made the $100,000 gift after hearing about the university’s plans to build a center focused on holistic health and well-being initiatives to serve students, faculty and staff.
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, which will bring academic, wellness, campus recreation and fitness programs together under one roof to support student success 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 were always open to supporting Elon given our son Julian’s wonderful experience there,” Ashley Taylor said. “Julian has evolved in a very positive way at Elon in regards to his own health, and so the HealthEU Center really resonated with us to support. It’s really amazing.”
“Throughout our time as Elon parents, we have admired the university’s commitment to supporting students in all aspects of their lives,” Gail said. “The fitness facilities have been used almost daily by our son and have been tremendously impactful for coping with the stress of academic life. We believe incorporating mental health and wellness in this new space will aide so many to be successful.”
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 Taylors believe strongly in Elon’s comprehensive, multi-prong approach to health and well-being, which is a foundational aspect of life.
“Students today need to learn about balance and that it’s not just physical health they need to focus on,” Ashley said. “It also includes their mental health and development intellectually and developing those habits that they will continue to refine after they graduate. The balance that Elon is driving toward sets the student up for success for life.”
The Taylors’ gift will also establish the Taylor Family Elon Engagement Scholarship, which will provide financial assistance to Black-identifying students. Engagement Scholarships are designed for promising incoming students eager to participate in Elon’s nationally recognized engaged learning curriculum. The scholarship includes a grant for participation in one of the university’s Elon Experiences programs (study abroad, Study USA, research, internships, service learning or leadership development). The Taylors have previously made gifts to Elon’s Black Alumni Scholarship, which is awarded annually to a high-achieving African American student with demonstrated financial need.
“Scholarships can be the difference maker for students to be able to attend Elon, and we are proud to help make an Elon education possible for deserving students,” Ashley said.
The Taylors are grateful to Elon for helping expand Julian’s horizons. He’s met peers from across the country who are now close friends and received strong mentoring from faculty who have helped guide his studies in finance and marketing in the Martha and Spencer Love School of Business.
“Elon students have those close relationships with faculty and that doesn’t happen on all college campuses,” Ashley said.
“Elon is grateful to the Taylor family for their generosity and for supporting an initiative that will impact the health and wellness of students in their pursuit of thriving on campus and in the journey ahead,” said Cole Hyman ’16 MBA ’21, assistant director of development.
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.
Philanthropy
Donor Profiles HealthEU Parents University Advancement Wellness Promotion
People in this article:
Cole Hyman
Assistant Director of Development
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