KALAMAZOO (WKZO-AM) –Dr. Elson Floyd was remembered on Friday with a pair of events on two of WMU’s campuses, including one campus he helped create.
The afternoon began with the rededication of the school’s sprawling College of Engineering and Applied Sciences facility as Elson S. Floyd Hall.
Current President John Dunn says the one piece that has been missing at the facility has been a name. The complex serves as the central feature on the Engineering Campus and BTR Park, which was just a cornfield before Floyd became president.
It was followed by a community celebration of Dr. Floyd’s presidency that was held at the Dalton Center, featuring speeches, a video presentation, and a choir. It was topped off by the WMU Marching Band playing the school’s fight song.
His widow, Carmento Floyd, spoke of how much her husband appreciated Western, because it was his first presidency, and it came at a university with visionaries and supporters who helped him succeed.
Floyd was president of WMU from 1998 to 2003. He left WMU in 2003 to become the president of the University of Missouri system.
In 2007, he was named the 10th president of Washington State University, a position he held until his death. He died from cancer on June 20 at the age of 59.
– John McNeill
