By Lorraine Nelson, WSU Spokane
SPOKANE, Wash. – Former Washington State University President Elson S. Floyd received posthumously today the newly created Spokane Citizen Impact Award to recognize his contributions to the city of Spokane. He is the first recipient, and the award will be named after him to become the Elson Floyd Impact Award.
Also honored from WSU Spokane was Greg Belenky, a researcher in the Sleep and Performance Research Center at WSU Health Sciences Spokane, who was a finalist in the Science Health and Medicine category, one of six award categories in addition to the new Floyd award.
WSU president from May 2007 until his death, Floyd died June 20 of complications from colon cancer. His widow, Carmento Floyd, was at the breakfast awards ceremony to accept the award on his behalf.
Floyd was honored for his impact on Spokane, which includes designation in 2010 of the Spokane campus as the health sciences campus for WSU, relocation of the WSU College of Pharmacy in 2013 from Pullman to the Spokane campus, creation of the College of Medicine in 2014 on the Spokane campus, and state legislative authorization in 2015 for a WSU medical school in Spokane.
The Spokane Citizen Hall of Fame awards ceremony is a project of the city of Spokane and the Spokane Library Foundation. Its purpose is to recognize individuals who have made significant contributions to the city of Spokane while providing funds to expand the outreach services of the library.
The Elson Floyd Impact Award will be given to future recipients who have made significant and lasting contributions that may fall outside the scope of the six hall of fame categories.
Contact:
Lorraine Nelson, WSU Health Sciences Spokane, 509-368-6671, lanelson@wsu.edu
