Elson S. Floyd honored with Citizen Hall of Fame award

The City of Spokane and the Spokane Public Library Foundation today honored former WSU president Elson S. Floyd with first ever Spokane Citizen Impact Award. Going forward, the award will be named the Elson S. Floyd Impact Award and will be given each year to individuals who have made significant contributions to the region that may fall outside the scope of the Hall of Fame.

Floyd became president at WSU in 2007 and had a major impact on WSU’s presence in Spokane. In 2010, WSU’s Board of Regents designated WSU Spokane as the university’s health sciences campus. Floyd was also instrumental in moving the WSU College of Pharmacy entirely to Spokane.

In 2015, Floyd was tireless in convincing lawmakers to allow WSU to establish a medical school that would be headquartered in Spokane. It is now named the Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine. The college is currently working through the accreditation process.

Floyd was a champion of higher education in our state and his passion will have a lasting impact in Spokane and every other corner of Washington.

In June of 2015, Floyd passed away from complications of colon cancer. Carmento Floyd, his widow, accepted the Spokane Citizen Impact Award on his behalf:

In addition to Floyd’s recognition, WSU Spokane sleep researcher Dr. Greg Belenky was a finalist for the Citizen Hall of Fame in the Science Health and Medicine category. The Hall of Fame honor went to Dr. Alan Hendrickson.