WSU president says university has an
impact on every community in the state

Elson Floyd, right, visits old friend, former state representative Val Ogden, and new friend, Bola Majekobaje, WSU Vancouver assistant director for Student Diversity at reception for the incoming WSU president in Vancouver today.

As a ‘world class’ research university system, Washington State University is having a positive impact on every community in the state of Washington, incoming WSU president Elson S. Floyd said at a news conference today on the Salmon Creek campus of Washington State University Vancouver.

Floyd, who will become the tenth president in the history of the Pullman-based university in July, succeeding retiring V. Lane Rawlings, is no stranger to the state of Washington.

A graduate of and holder of a doctorate from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, Floyd was executive director of the Washington State Higher Education Coordinating Board from July 1993 to August 1995. Prior to that, Floyd was at Eastern Washington University, Cheney and Spokane, leaving there in 1993 as executive vice president of the university.

For the past four years Floyd has been president of the University of Missouri, which has an enrollment of 63,000 students and a staff of 25,321. He was also president of Western Michigan University from 1998 to 2003.

Among other honors, Floyd was named 2005 communicator of the year by the Mid-Missouri Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America and in 2004 received the James C. Kirkpatrick Award from the Northwest Missouri Press Association. He was named the Outstanding Young Man in America in 1976, and the Outstanding Young Black American in 1982.

Floyd says that the Washington State University system “is a world class university poised for even greater progress.”

“We are poised to be a comprehensive global research university,” Floyd says, “What we do as a university will benefit not just the students who attend, but the community at large.”

Floyd also challenges the community: “To further improve, Washington State University needs the financial support of the whole community. Business and community financial support for research is a requisite in taking the university beyond the level provided by state financing, he says.

Floyd was introduced to a gathering of WSU and WSU Vancouver friends at a reception on the Salmon Creek Campus this morning by WSU Vancouver chancellor Hal Dengerink.

Doris Groth Troxel named
Outstanding Clark alumna

Doris Groth Troxel, who served Clark College students for over 30 years, will receive one of the college’s highest honors on April 18, when she will be presented with the 2007 Clark College Outstanding Alumni Award.

After growing up in Clark County, Troxel became a member of the Clark College community as a student. From 1940 to 1942, she attended Clark College classes when they were held at Vancouver High School and in the Salvation Army Building at 7th and C Streets.

After earning her bachelor’s degree in business from Washington State University in Pullman, she returned to Clark at the request of then-dean Lewis Cannell. There, Troxel played a pivotal role in helping restart the college after a suspension of classes during World War II. She worked with the college dean in the college office and served as assistant registrar until her retirement in 1976.

Since her retirement, she has remained a strong supporter of the college through her involvement with college events and her financial support of college programs and scholarships, including an annual endowed scholarship for a student from the Clark College business division. She has also endowed two scholarships at Washington State University in her name and that of her sister, the late Alice Groth.

Troxel, who lives in Battle Ground, is a member of and has served in leadership positions for the American Association of University Women and the Association of Retired School Employees. Her membership and volunteer activities also include Business and Professional Women, Prairie High School Library, AARP, the Hardy Plant Society of Oregon, YWCA, Habitat for Humanity and Oregon Public Broadcasting.

Troxel has also been active in the Columbia Cascade Chapter of Friendship Force, which arranges travel experiences to promote international friendships and cultural exchanges. As a result, Troxel has visited every continent except Antarctica. Her travels have taken to her to Kenya, Tanzania and the Galapagos Islands, which are home to the Clark College mascot, the Galapagos penguin.

According to Clark College Foundation president Lisa Gibert, “Few Clark College graduates have exhibited as much dedication to their alma mater and their home community as Doris Troxel.”

The 2007 Outstanding Alumni Award will be presented at the Clark College Alumni-Student Dinner Wednesday, April 18. Tickets for the dinner are available through the college’s alumni office at 992-2705. The cost is $25 per person.

Calendar

The C-TRAN board of directors meets at 5:15 p.m. this evening in the C-TRAN administrative offices, 2425 NE 65th Avenue. n Clark County commissioners meet in an informal session at 1:30 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 14, in conference room B in the Public Service Center. n An artists reception for glass artist David Schwarz will be in the Archer Gallery at Clark College from 4 to 7 p.m. Wednesday, Feb 14. Many of Schwarz’s multi-faceted and etched glass surfaces will be on display.

Tuesday, Feb. 13 headlines

1904 hospital in way of I-5 realignment--Oregonian, Allan Brettman

Bush budget upsets Gregoire--Columbian, Kathie Durbin

Beloved violin teacher killed in I-5 crash with wrong-way driver--Columbian, John Branton

Jonathan Nelson tells of KeyBank's Rolling Stones investment slogans--Columbian

Employee benefits continue to decline--Columbian, Courtney Sherwood

Learning math by making milkshakes and money--Oregonian, Dee Anne Finken

Sonics choose Renton--Seattle Times, Jim Brunner

Clinton, Giuliani pull ahead in poll--USA TODAY, Susan Page

Mitt Romney announces presidential candidacy--New York Times, Adam Nagourney

North Korea agrees to nuclear disarmament--Washington Post, Edward Cody

Streaming video of Elson Floyd's first news conference after been selected to become Washington State University's tenth president--Pullman, Wash. Feb. 9.