And now, there's really only one choice for the name.
In 2024, the first graduates of the as-yet-to-be-named Washington State University medical school will complete their residencies and begin practicing medicine as full-fledged MDs.
And they'll have Elson S. Floyd to thank for it.
Floyd regularly sought out ways to advance the profile of WSU during his eight-year tenure as president -- the Spokesman-Review lists a $1 billion capital campaign, soaring student enrollment and the establishment of the Paul G. Allen Center of Global Animal Health as major accomplishments -- but no move was as bold as challenging the University of Washington's stranglehold on medicine education in the Northwest by announcing WSU's intentions to pursue establishing its own medical school.