The University of North Georgia (UNG) has awarded emerita status to Dr. Elaine Taylor, professor of nursing, who retired this summer after 19 years with the university. It is an honor University System of Georgia (USG) institutions can confer upon any retired faculty or administrative officer who had 10 or more years of honorable and distinguished USG service when retiring.

A certified pediatric nurse practitioner, Taylor has more than 35 years of experience in nursing education and pediatric nursing.  In her time at UNG, she held positions including associate department head of nursing, RN-to-BSN program coordinator, and military adviser for cadets in the nursing program. She also worked with the taskforce that developed UNG's Bachelor of Science in Nursing.

"She's been a strong mentor to many of us at the university," said Dr. Sharon Chalmers, department head of nursing at UNG. "She's always willing to share her knowledge and expertise with the faculty."

Taylor received many awards and accolades, including a Presidential Professional Engagement Award for her project "Maintaining pediatric expertise to support the UNG nursing curriculum through faculty professional development," as well as a grant from the VWR Charitable Foundation to support the annual service-learning trips to the Dominican Republic she led from 2012-2019, where students helped patients with acute health problems. In May 2019, she received the Altruism Award from El Buen Samaritano Hospital in La Romana, Dominican Republic.

"It gave me great pleasure to see students get a cultural immersion opportunity while providing service," Taylor said.