[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 102 (Wednesday, June 24, 2015)]
[House]
[Page H4600]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            HONORING THE LIFE AND SERVICE OF DR. ELSON FLOYD

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Washington (Mr. Kilmer) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. KILMER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Dr. Elson Floyd, the 
president of Washington State University, who passed away this past 
weekend.
  Let me start with a little bit of background. Every member of my 
family went to the University of Washington, so I was actually raised 
to root for the UW Huskies and to root against the Washington State 
University Cougars.
  Now, before Dr. Floyd passed, I admitted to him that, having worked 
with him over the years and having admired his leadership, I suddenly 
found myself rooting for Washington State University, too. You will be 
glad to know that eventually my family started talking to me again.
  I was proud to call Elson Floyd a friend and a partner. He led the 
university during incredibly difficult times in our economy, and he 
never hesitated to make tough decisions that he believed would be best 
for his university and best for his students. That even included 
cutting his own salary during the Great Recession. He fought for 
opportunities for his students, and in fact, the number of students of 
color at WSU doubled during his tenure.
  I think it is worth pointing out, he wasn't just a leader for 
Washington State University, he was a leader and a visionary for all of 
higher education in Washington State. It wasn't just about what was 
good for Washington State University, it was what was good for higher 
education.
  How do we make sure we have an ethic where we are advocating for more 
people to have more opportunities to get more education to higher 
levels? He understood that. He understood that because he understood 
that education is the door of economic opportunity because he had lived 
it himself.
  He did all he could to ensure that opportunity was felt, not just in 
Pullman, Washington, and not just at the University of Washington in 
Seattle, but all throughout our State. We saw in my neck of the woods 
at Olympic College in Bremerton where, because of Dr. Floyd's 
leadership, WSU set up a 4-year program in engineering.
  That sounds kind of wonky, but here is the reality of it. What he did 
changed lives. It meant that young people in Bremerton could see the 
opportunity to actually learn at home, study for 4 years, get a degree 
in engineering, and then go work in private industry or go work at our 
shipyard.
  There are now young people who have opportunities that they would 
have never had before if it hadn't been for Elson Floyd's leadership. 
What he did changed lives. He was such a good man. He was ethical, and 
he was wise, and he had that extraordinary combination of big heart and 
big brain and courage.
  His life has been celebrated in the days since he passed, and I just 
want to be one of the people to celebrate him. I am going to miss him, 
and I want to extend to the entire WSU community my condolences.
  Most importantly, I want his family to know that we lost a very 
special person and that our thoughts and prayers are with them.

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