The Seattle Times – Floyd’s death on Saturday leaves a significant vacuum, both on the Palouse and in the state’s education community. In Pullman, his legacy includes surging student enrollment, research funding and university fundraising. He helped WSU weather the Great Recession by cutting his own annual salary by $100,000 for two years. He leaves the university with new colleges and schools, including his signature achievement: a just-authorized medical school in Spokane. Away from Pullman, Floyd was a galvanizing force for a more broadly imagined education continuum: “cradle to college.” He brought together the state’s colleges and universities to speak as a single voice against the Legislature’s wrongheaded policy of jacking up tuition, and was an equally eloquent advocate for early learning. As the University of Washington went through four presidents during Floyd’s eight years, he emerged as the steady, credible elder statesman of higher education in the state.
The Northwest Georgia News – Once he arrived on campus, Floyd quickly became involved in all aspects of campus life. A three-sport athlete, he was co-captain of the football team and a member of the track and basketball teams. He was also president of the “Y” Cabinet, president of Student Council, vice president of the Explorers, vice president of the Honor Council, and participated in many social school activities, including Advisory Committee and Social Committee. A leader among his peers, he was even voted “Class Favorite.”
The New York Times – “The reason there’s no consensus is because it’s really hard to measure how much of any export is due to this trip,” said Andrew Cassey, an associate economics professor at Washington State University who analyzed more than 500 gubernatorial trade trips taken from 1997 through 2006. It can take years to know whether the personal relationships forged on foreign trade trips pay off with increased business, he said. Cassey found the most common destinations were countries to which states already were exporting relatively large amounts of goods.