$30 million gift to faculty of kinesiology from Joan Snyder follows a $20-million gift from Don and Ruth Taylor for the advancement of sport science

The University of Calgary is making big moves in sport science, thanks to two major donations totaling $50 million.

Philanthropist Joan Snyder has given $30 million to support research focused on women’s health in sports, while Calgary businessman Don Taylor, his wife Ruth and the Taylor Family Foundation have contributed $20 million to build a state-of-the-art kinesiology research facility.

Snyder’s gift will fund studies on important but often overlooked areas like menopause, hormone changes, and iron deficiency in women, helping female athletes and everyday women get the science-backed support they need. One new research project, Momentum, is among the first to examine how menopause affects physical performance and recovery.

Taylor’s donation will help create the Taylor Family Kinesiology Building, set to open in 2026. It will be one of North America’s most advanced centres for studying human performance, movement, and health.

The Faculty of Kinesiology at UCalgary is already ranked among the world’s best. Its researchers are tackling everything from concussion prevention and joint health to wearable tech and space science. In fact, UCalgary is working with NASA and other space agencies to help protect astronauts’ bones and joints during long missions. One professor even developed a balance-boosting device now being used by both elite athletes and aging adults.

The faculty’s arthritis research — showing that diet can affect men’s and women’s joints differently — was recently named one of the top 10 medical advances in Canada. And UCalgary graduates are putting what they learn into practice at major companies like Nike, Adidas, Under Armour, Garmin, and Lululemon.

“These gifts are helping us change the game in sport science,” says Dr. Nick Holt, Dean of the Faculty of Kinesiology. “We’re not just doing research —we’re creating real-world impact.”

Don Taylor, founder of heating and cooling company Engineered Air, has a long history of supporting education in Alberta.

He and his wife Ruth, have donated more than $200 million to causes including libraries, the arts, medical research, and now, sport science.

With this new momentum, the University of Calgary is not just keeping up — it’s leading the way in how we move, train, recover, and perform.