Elson S. Floyd (born March 1, 1956)[1] is an American educator who took office as the 10th president of the four-campus Washington State University on May 21, 2007. He succeeded V. Lane Rawlins as the leader of Washington State’s land-grant research university. Floyd has also served as president of the University of Missouri System and president of Western Michigan University.
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Elson S. Floyd is a native of Henderson, North Carolina, a city located about 40 minutes north of Raleigh, North Carolina, the state capital. He is the oldest of four sons of Mr. and Mrs. Elson Floyd. He attended the Darlington School, a coeducational college preparatory school in Rome, Georgia.
Dr. Floyd holds a bachelor of arts degree in political science and speech (1978), a master of education degree in adult education (1982), and a doctor of philosophy degree in higher and adult education (1984), all from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Before coming to Washington State University, where he is based on the main campus in Pullman, Washington, Floyd was the 21st president of the four-campus University of Missouri for four years (2003–2007). He was selected to lead Missouri’s land-grant research university on Nov. 11, 2002.
Prior to that, he was the sixth president of Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo, Michigan, taking office there August 1, 1998, and serving until January 5, 2003. While at Western Michigan University, he also was a tenured faculty member in the Department of Counselor Education and Counseling Psychology and in the Department of Teaching, Learning and Leadership.
Dr. Floyd spent from 1995 to 1998 at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where he served as chief administrative and operating officer and the senior official responsible for business and finance; human resources; auxiliary enterprises; student affairs; information technology; university advancement and development; and enrollment management.
For two years, 1993–1995, he was executive director of the Washington State Higher Education Coordinating Board, the agency responsible for statewide planning, policy analysis and student financial aid programs for Washington's post-secondary education system. From 1990 to 1993, Dr. Floyd served as vice president for student services, vice president for administration, and executive vice president at Eastern Washington University, Cheney, Washington. In the latter role, he was the university's chief operating officer.
WSU’s president started his career in 1978 at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he held deanships in the Division of Student Affairs, the General College and the College of Arts and Sciences. From 1988 to 1990, he was assistant vice president for student services for the UNC system office, where he helped develop and articulate student affairs and academic affairs policy for the 16-campus university system.
Dr. Floyd overcame quite the scandal at the University of Missouri where his wife and the assistant Athletic Director's wife, Amy Stewart, were caught via tape providing dating advice and advice on how to take down the Athletic Director, Mike Alden, and Head Basketball Coach, Quin Snyder. The comments attributed to Mrs. Floyd were racial and caused Dr. Floyd considerable embarrassment. Fighting for his career he rebounded from this embarrassment created by his wife.
Among President Floyd’s numerous appointments to boards and councils are those to the American Council on Education (ACE) Commission on Leadership and Institutional Effectiveness (2004 - ), the Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics (2003 - ), President George W. Bush’s Advisory Board for the White House Initiative on Historically Black Colleges and Universities (2002 - ), The Darling School Board of Trustees (1997–2000) and the Education Commission of the States (1993). He also was a Truman Scholarship Reviewer (1999).
On November 21, 2008, Floyd asked the WSU Board of Regents to cut his pay by $100,000 in light of the difficult budget the university was facing.[2] Floyd's salary had been increased from $600,000 to $725,000 in August, making his salary $625,000 after the reduction.[3] It is the largest known salary-reduction of a university president. Floyd said he wanted to "lead by example." Two other university presidents gave self-imposed cuts that week as well.[4] As of June 16, 2009, Floyd announced an additional 5% cut to his salary along with other executive board members.
Among other honors, Dr. Floyd received the 2004 Distinguished Alumnus Award from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill and the Distinguished Alumnus Award from his former high school, Darlington School, in Georgia. He is the recipient of the 2005 Communicator of the Year Award, given by the Mid-Missouri Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA), and the 2004 James C. Kirkpatrick Award given by the Northwest Missouri Press Association for public service.
| Academic offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by V. Lane Rawlins |
President of Washington State University 2007–present |
Succeeded by None, incumbent |
| Preceded by Manuel T. Pacheco |
President of the University of Missouri System 2003–2007 |
Succeeded by Gary D. Forsee |
| Preceded by Diether Haenicke |
President of Western Michigan University 1998–2003 |
Succeeded by Judith Bailey |