WSU President Elson Floyd plans Colfax town hall meeting

Washington State University President Elson Floyd wants to know what benefits the school is providing to communities throughout the state.

Next Thursday, April 8, Floyd is holding a town hall meeting at Hill-Ray Plaza in Colfax to get information from Whitman County residents.

“I’m looking forward to the opportunity to listen and to learn and to help our university focus on how we can make the most positive impact on our state’s present and future,” Floyd said in a press release.

Darin Watkins, WSU communications director, said Floyd is holding meetings all over Washington to gauge how the university is contributing to the state’s economy.

“As we deal with budget cuts, President Floyd wants to hear from the real world which programs are working and which need to be looked at,” Watkins told the Gazette Saturday.

Watkins said the president will visit Puget Sound businesses like Boeing to gauge the university’s training of engineers.

Locally, Watkins said Floyd is interested to hear how university agricultural research contributes to Whitman County’s rural economy.

Floyd’s Colfax town hall meeting Thursday is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. Prior to the Hill-Ray stop, he will meet with local political and business leaders in the Public Service Building at 4 p.m. Floyd is also scheduled to speak at a Rotary Club luncheon at noon at the Methodist Church.

Floyd’s Thursday stops in Colfax cap a four-day tour of southeast Washington. He is scheduled for stops in Ritzville, Clarkston, Asotin, Pomeroy and Dayton earlier in the week.

Hired in May 2007, Floyd is WSU’s 10th president.