Andrew Taylor, an emeritus trustee of Washington University in St. Louis, and his wife, Barbara, have made a $50 million gift to WashU Medicine’s neurosurgery department to enhance groundbreaking research, innovative patient care and the training of the next generation of neurosurgery leaders.
In recognition of the Taylors’ generosity, the department has been named the Taylor Family Department of Neurosurgery.
The gift continues a long legacy of support from the Taylor family to WashU and was made in appreciation of the medical care Andrew Taylor recently received from WashU Medicine neurosurgeons. He is executive chairman of St. Louis-based Enterprise Mobility, the global car rental and transportation company.
“This gift marks a new era in the history of innovative science and compassionate healing at WashU Medicine,” said Chancellor Andrew D. Martin.
“Andrew and Barbara’s generosity is further strengthening the department’s research infrastructure and helping WashU Medicine deliver world-class, life-changing care right here in St. Louis, while also providing life-saving innovations to the world. Their investment in new discoveries and treatments will give many more families reasons to feel grateful for decades to come.”
The neurosurgery department is widely recognized as one of the best in the country. Among neurosurgery departments at U.S. medical schools, it is ranked No. 5 in research funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
WashU Medicine’s masterful neurosurgeons and a powerful synergy between basic research and the latest technology ensure patients receive the very best care.
The department is renowned for its leadership in treating a variety of conditions such as brain tumors, cerebral aneurysms, epilepsy, spine and peripheral nerve injuries and pediatric neurological problems, and is the highest volume program in Missouri and southern Illinois using deep brain stimulation for the treatment of movement disorders such as Parkinson’s disease and essential tremor.
“The Taylor family has always valued people, nurtured talent and fostered a culture of excellence in their business endeavors and through their philanthropy,” said David H. Perlmutter, MD, executive vice chancellor for medical affairs, the George and Carol Bauer Dean of WashU Medicine, and the Spencer T. and Ann W. Olin Distinguished Professor.
“Those are values we uphold at WashU Medicine. With this gift, we can even more tightly embrace and nurture the culture that we’ve built over many years, thanks to leaders like Ralph Dacey and Greg Zipfel.”
During his illness, Andrew Taylor received exceptional care from a team of WashU Medicine specialists led by Gregory Zipfel, MD, head of the Taylor Family Department of Neurosurgery and the Ralph G. Dacey Distinguished Professor of Neurosurgery – a professorship partly funded by the Taylors – and Wilson Zachary Ray, MD, the Henry G. and Edith R. Schwartz Professor of Neurosurgery and executive vice chair of the department. Ralph Dacey, MD, a close friend of the Taylors and a professor emeritus and former head of the neurosurgery department, guided and supported the Taylor family through Andrew’s surgery and recovery.
The Taylors’ gift will help the department recruit talented neurosurgeons and neurosurgery researchers, enhance neurosurgery residency and fellowship training programs and strengthen areas of expertise for which the department is already well regarded, including innovations in neurotechnology, brain tumor treatment and spinal surgery, Zipfel said.
In addition, the gift is designed to foster expertise in emerging or rapidly changing neurosurgery research fields and to support high-risk, high-reward projects, which would allow faculty to investigate novel areas of research as opportunities arise, without being as tied to the timetables or priorities of external granting agencies.
Zipfel said he believes new recruitment and research initiatives are likely to lead to major advances in the field of neurosurgery and new treatments.
Breakthroughs, particularly in the areas of neuromodulation and the treatment of brain tumors, could be meaningfully accelerated by this gift.
“For example, our researchers in the Brain Tumor Center at Siteman Cancer Center are on the precipice of making true inroads into the treatment of glioblastoma, which is currently a universally fatal type of brain cancer,” said Zipfel. “A gift like this can really shorten the timeline for developing better treatments. This transformational gift will have a lasting impact on our department, on WashU Medicine and our patients as we discover and innovate.”
The gift to support the neurosurgery department is the latest from the Taylor family to WashU. Andrew and Barbara Taylor and the Crawford Taylor Foundation previously gave $30 million to support to the Taylor Family Institute for Innovative Psychiatric Research at WashU Medicine.
The Taylor family and Enterprise Mobility also contributed a total of $70 million to establish and expand the Enterprise Mobility Scholars Program, which provides scholarships to undergraduate students with financial need.
Most recently, in 2023, Andrew and Barbara Taylor made a $15 million gift to create the Taylor Family Center for Student Success, which provides resources and support to first-generation and limited-income undergraduate students.
Andrew Taylor was also the chair of the public phase of WashU’s last fundraising campaign, which raised a record $3.378 billion for the university.
For their contributions to WashU and philanthropic leadership in the St Louis community, Andrew and Barbara Taylor were awarded the university’s Robert S. Brookings Award in 2018 and honorary degrees in 2022.
The Taylors’ long-term support reflects a deep-seated commitment to WashU and its place in St. Louis and the world. This most recent gift for the Taylor Family Department of Neurosurgery was inspired by a personal connection to WashU Medicine and to Dacey.
“This extraordinary gift will transform the Taylor Family Department of Neurosurgery, significantly enhancing the care we provide to patients now and for years to come,” Dacey said. “Its impact will be far-reaching, benefiting thousands of patients in the St. Louis region and across the country, thanks to the incredible support of the Taylor family.”
The Taylors’ experience through Andrew’s treatment and recovery reinforced their desire to support WashU Medicine’s neurosurgery research and training and to accelerate the development of new interventions.
“The gift is absolutely appropriate, and it’s worthwhile,” said Andrew Taylor. “I hope it will save other families from going through what I had to go through and if they do, they will get great care like I did.”
Added Barbara Taylor: “Like many, our family has benefited from the skilled doctors, nurses, and excellent patient care that Washington University provides. We look forward to supporting the neurosurgery department in its efforts to hire and train the most talented doctors and to advance the international reputation of St. Louis as the place to be for outstanding health care with optimal results.”
Zipfel praised the generosity of the Taylors, which shone through even during times of need.
“Throughout his care, even when he was ill and not at his best, Andrew was always asking us what he could do for us,” said Zipfel. “He always had that spirit of giving at the forefront.”
For Life Trustee Andrew C. Taylor, the best thing about serving as chair of the public phase of Leading Together: The Campaign for Washington University was the people he met along the way.
At the gala event in St. Louis that formally launched the campaign’s public phase in October 2012, and at a number of regional campaign events he attended around the country, Taylor says he met “some of the biggest supporters of the university, and they all had really interesting stories.”
“And if you look at the campaign results, they speak for themselves.”
“It is very appealing to us to give a life opportunity to men and women who would not otherwise be able to attend the university. That makes us feel really good, and we have connections with those students.”
Beyond Andrew Taylor’s campaign leadership, gifts from him and his wife, Barbara, and from the Crawford Taylor Foundation — the charity of the Jack C. Taylor family — played a key role in ensuring the success of Leading Together.
Andrew Taylor says his late father, Jack, who founded the Enterprise Rent-A-Car Company in 1957, led the way in the family’s tradition of giving and making a difference in the community.
In 2001, the Taylor family and Enterprise Holdings established the largest scholarship fund at Washington University with a gift of $25 million. Ten years later, Jack, an emeritus trustee of the university, gave an additional $25 million for scholarships on behalf of the company.
“My father came from a middle-class family and had the opportunity to start a company with $25,000 of borrowed money and turn it into something that’s quite substantial,” Andrew says. “It is very appealing to us to give a life opportunity to men and women who would not otherwise be able to attend the university. That makes us feel really good, and we have connections with those students.”
Chancellor Wrighton calls Andrew and Barbara Taylor “great university citizens who are among our most dedicated benefactors.” Wrighton says, “We are deeply grateful to both of them for their extraordinary generosity, which will have a lasting impact on our students, our university and our society.”
Andrew Taylor, who is executive chairman of St. Louis–based Enterprise Holdings — which operates Enterprise Rent-A-Car, National Car Rental, and Alamo Rent-A-Car — as well as Barbara and other members of the Taylor family have long supported and been active in St. Louis’ civic and cultural organizations. Barbara Taylor is an honorary trustee and former president of the board of commissioners for the Saint Louis Art Museum, as well as a trustee and a member of the executive committee of Forest Park Forever. She previously served as a trustee of Mary Institute and Saint Louis Country Day School and of Webster University.
“One of the best things about Washington University,” Andrew says, “is that it’s a very caring school. If they admit you, they work really hard to keep you and help you do well.
“My family loves St. Louis,” he continues, “and Washington University is a big economic engine and brings a lot of prestige to our area. It’s very, very good for St. Louis — one of the best things we have in this town, and we have a lot of really good things.”
Andrew calls his campaign experience “a lot of fun.”
He says, “I learned a lot from the people and groups and volunteers that I met.
“Then the campaign accomplishments came, whether it was creating great psychiatric medicines or building new buildings or having new programs that are relevant to what companies want for jobs. “
“So I feel a really good sense of accomplishment.”