PULLMAN, Wash. – The Washington State University Board of Regents is trying to name the university's new medical school after former school President Elson Floyd.
Floyd died in June of complications from colon cancer.
School leaders said specific protocols must be followed in order to name the school after him. The regents have asked the interim president Daniel Bernardo to develop recommendations regarding how to best proceed.
Floyd had been president of the university since 2007 and had most recently pushed to create a medical school at WSU's Spokane campus.
His list of accomplishments is long and impressive but those who know Elson Floyd say his legacy is perhaps strongest in the hearts of the Cougar family. WSU Vice President for Advancement John Gardner considered him a friend "he helped the university rediscover what that public purpose means but in a 21st century way."
Under his leadership, the percentage of minorities went from 15 percent to more than 35 percent. Bernardo says more than 40 percent of those are first generation college students just like Floyd.
