Former Health Service Director Receives Honor

Dr. Mary Ann Taylor, a former director of the Wake Forest University Student Health Service, was honored Tuesday, Feb. 2, with the university’s highest award, the Medallion of Merit, during Founders’ Day Convocation.

A graduate of Wake Forest’s undergraduate college and medical school, Taylor joined the Wake Forest staff in 1961. Her university career spanned 30 years, including 15 years as a staff physician, two years as director of the medical school’s Student Health Service and 13 years as director of the university’s Student Health Service.

In presenting the award to Taylor, Wake Forest President Thomas K. Hearn Jr. said Taylor’s “service to the university personifies the essence of our motto, Pro Humanitate. The recipient devoted herself during many years of service to the total health, growth, and well-being of Wake Forest students.”

Hearn noted that Taylor “was interested in the total patient, always asking staff members engaging her in a patient consultation, ‘What else is going on in this student’s life?'” “Wake Forest University honors Dr. Mary Ann Taylor, this kind, energetic and compassionate doctor who cared for countless Wake Forest students, with its Medallion of Merit,” announced Hearn.

In addition, awards were presented to a number of Wake Forest faculty.

Robert H. Evans, associate professor of education, was awarded the Kulynych Family Omicron Delta Kappa Award for Contribution to Student Life. Jeffrey D. Lerner, assistant professor of history, was awarded the Reid-Doyle Prize for Excellence in Teaching. Peter H. Brubaker, associate professor of health and exercise science and director of the Wake Forest Cardiac Rehabilitation Program, received the Award for Excellence in Research. Joel S. Newman, professor of law, was presented the Joseph Branch Excellence in Teaching Award.

Taylor was also honored at the formal dedication of the Student Health Service’s new facility following convocation. The George C. Mackie Student Health Center, located in Reynolds Gymnasium, opened in January.

Mackie served as Wake Forest’s physician until it moved to Winston-Salem in 1956. He earned a bachelor of arts degree in 1924 and a bachelor of science in medicine in 1926 from Wake Forest. Mackie remained in the town of Wake Forest as physician for the Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary until his death in 1970.

The center features a wellness center named in honor of Taylor, and a conference room named in honor of the late Dr. Paul Garrison. Garrison, a 1947 graduate of Wake Forest, was the first director of the Student Health Service on the Winston-Salem campus. Garrison served as director from 1962 until 1967.

Portraits of Taylor, Mackie and Garrison were hung in the new center as part of the dedication.