Geraldine “Gerri” S. Taylor, associate dean and director of the Center for Health and Wellness at Bentley University, was one of three college health professionals from across the nation selected as ACHA Fellows by the American College Health Association (ACHA). She was noted for nearly three decades of leadership and commitment to the advancement in college health.

“I have always believed that adolescents and young adults need providers who genuinely care about them, accept them for who they are and understand their unique health care needs,” Taylor says. “I hire the very best staff and put the best systems in place to create a safe and high quality health center. Our students are the future and we have the unique privilege and responsibility to help them remain healthy and navigate through their college years.”

At the state level, Taylor played an integral role in Massachusetts’ response to H1N1 as a member of the Massachusetts Department of Public Health H1N1 Advisory Committee. Her engagement as a volunteer leader in the college health arena includes service at the local, regional, and national level. She is a past president of the College Health Administrative Directors organization and has served as president and as a board member of the New England College Health Association over the span of six years. Her national involvement includes chairing the Advanced Practice Clinicians Section and serving as a Member-at-Large on the ACHA Board of Directors. She currently serves as the ACHA program planning chair and past president of NECHA. Taylor has contributed to the field more broadly through her service as a peer reviewer for ACHA. She also has been a reviewer for the Journal of American College Health since 2010 and a consulting editor since 2012. At Bentley, she chairs the Coalition for Sexual and Relationship Violence and volunteers for the LGBTQ committee.

Taylor is exploring the integration of healthcare, counseling and wellness under one roof at Bentley to pioneer a model of college healthcare. “This will increase coordination of care for our students and ultimately increase their health and the health of our community. It will provide students with the best potential for a balanced healthy life and opportunity for reaching their goals.”

The American College Health Association, the nation’s principal advocate and leadership organization for college and university health, was founded in 1920 and represents a diverse membership of nearly 3,000 individuals and 900 institutions that provides and supports the delivery of health care, prevention and wellness services for the nation’s 17 million college students.