WSU presence will be Elson Floyd's legacy in Everett

(AP) — Elson Floyd had been Washington State University president about two years when Everett Mayor Ray Stephanson asked him in late 2009 to join forces to plant a WSU flag in the city.

[...] began a relationship that spawned WSU North Puget Sound — better known as University Center — operating on the campus of Everett Community College.

The regents will hold a special meeting in the next few weeks to appoint an interim president and likely name a committee to conduct a nationwide search for a new president, WSU spokeswoman Kathy Barnard said Monday.

A decade ago, state lawmakers again gave the University of Washington the inside track to start a branch campus.

[...] feuding among the area's representatives on a location and the projected billion-dollar price tag torpedoed the effort.

Though it was no secret WSU leaders desired to stake a claim on the west side of the state, he understood the politics, having served as executive director of the Higher Education Coordinating Board when lawmakers chose Bothell for the UW campus.

A 2011 law directed WSU to replace Everett Community College as administrator of the University Center, a consortium of public and private universities that offer courses at EvCC.

Enrollment grew in Everett Community College's stellar engineering program as soon as WSU launched its mechanical engineering degree program.

Much of the mistrust when it was first proposed came from the state board, which I think was suspicious that Elson was trying to take over EvCC, and that he might even have a grand plan to do the same elsewhere.

Everett Community College President David Beyer said Floyd's legacy as a passionate advocate for higher education will be remembered in this state for a long time.