Western Michigan University President John Dunn will be at a meeting of the Board of Directors for the American Council on Education on Monday. At those meetings he would often see former Western President Elson Floyd. Floyd died on Saturday of complications related to cancer. He was 59.
Dunn told WMUK's Gordon Evans during an interview on Sunday that he often caught up with Floyd at those meetings. Floyd was Western's sixth president, he served from 1998 to 2003, when he left to lead the University of Missouri's statewide system. In 2007 Floyd became the president of Washington State University.
Floyd's accomplishments at Western include the Business Technology and Research Park, which includes the university's College of Engineering. Dunn says Western's recognition as a research university was also a major development during Floyd's tenure as president of WMU.
Dunn says Floyd enjoyed his time at Western. He says Washington State University was probably a better fit for Floyd than running the statewide system at Missouri. Dunn says Floyd enjoyed being part of the university community, which is easier at a school like Western or Washington State than as the head of a large system.
Floyd recently took medical leave as president of Washington State for cancer treatment, but Dunn says Saturday's news that Floyd passed away took him and others by surprise. Dunn says he expects there will be a memorial at Washington State and Western will have a delegation there. Dunn says Floyd's work at Western Michigan University "will always be remembered." But as of Sunday plans were still being made to honor Floyd's legacy.