KALAMAZOO, Mich.−A small delegation of Western Michigan University leaders led by WMU President John M. Dunn will be in Pullman, Washington, Wednesday to attend the long-planned celebration of the life of former WMU President Elson S. Floyd, who died June 20 at 59.
The service will take place from 3 to 5 p.m. Pacific time (6 to 8 p.m. p.m. Eastern Daylight time), Wednesday, Aug. 26, in Beasley Coliseum on WSU's Pullman Campus. WSU will stream the event live, and it may be viewed at bit.ly/1Py0vt9. An alternate link is at experience.wsu.edu/
Floyd was the 10th president of Washington State University and a nationally respected voice for affordable, accessible higher education. He died of complications from colon cancer.
He also was WMU's sixth president, serving from 1998 to 2003. Following his death, the WMU Board of Trustees voted unanimously to name the College of Engineering and Applied Sciences facility Elson S. Floyd Hall. The building is the anchor for a Business Technology and Research Park that Floyd was instrumental in establishing at WMU.
A ceremony to celebrate Floyd's role at the University and to formally dedicate the new name for the engineering building will be held Friday, Oct. 16. Members of the Floyd family are expected to attend, and additional details will be announced closer to the date.