Beth, a Greenville native, has been part of the Furman family her entire life.  Her father, Dr. Francis Bonner, joined the Furman faculty in 1949 and was later appointed dean of the university. Over the next 21 years, as vice president and subsequently, as vice president and provost, he was the chief academic officer under three Furman presidents and was instrumental in desegregating the university.  Beth has many fond memories of literally growing up on the Furman campus.

Beth graduated cum laude from Furman (’76) with a degree in Health and Physical Education. She played varsity tennis and spent a semester in England with Furman’s Study Abroad Program. Beth earned a Master’s in Exercise Science from Wake Forest University in 1977. She returned to Furman in 1978 as an Instructor in the Health and Physical Education Department where she developed a curriculum for students wishing to pursue Adult Fitness and/or Cardiac Rehabilitation. In 1984 Beth joined the staff of St. Francis Hospital where she established and directed their Cardiac Rehabilitation Program.

Beth has served on various committees for the Junior League of Greenville, Christ Church Episcopal School, Greenville Country Club, and First Baptist Church of Greenville. She served as a member of the Diaconate of First Baptist Greenville and served four years on the Parents’ Panel at Southern Methodist University.

Beth is married to David Taylor (’77) and has three grown children, Lauren (University of the South ’05), Ryan (Wake Forest University ’08), and Scott (Southern Methodist University ’13), and five grandchildren. Beth and family moved to Charlotte in 1999 where she became an active volunteer in the community and schools and joined the real estate firm of Cottingham-Chalk, winning the Rookie of the Year Award for the Charlotte Region her first year in real estate. Beth and Dave are avid Carolina Panthers fans, love sailing, and travel extensively, having walked the Camino de Santiago, climbed Mount Kilimanjaro, trekked to Everest Base Camp, and hiked extensively in Patagonia. When not traveling or visiting their kids and grandchildren, the Taylors enjoy splitting their time between home and Figure Eight Island NC. Beth and Dave are excited to be “home” again, having moved back to Greenville in August of 2023.