Don C. Brunell: Dr. Elson Floyd is a Hard Act to Follow

Dr. Elson Floyd leaves big shoes to fill at Washington State University.

He was just 59 when he died of colon cancer on June 20. From the day he stepped onto the WSU campus in 2007 he was determined to make big changes, and he did just that. In his short eight years as WSU president, he pushed higher education along faster than universities are accustomed to moving.

He began by taking a page from Gov. Gary Locke’s playbook.

In 2003, Gov. Locke (D) turned the state’s budget process upside down by establishing the “priorities of government.” Rather than cutting programs equally across the board,...