The city of Kent has benefited from many devoted friends of Kent State University. One of the best and most effective, Gregg Floyd, died on June 24th. He was 73 years old and had suffered from Parkinson’s disease for years.
Floyd served as KSU’s chief financial officer from 2008 to 2015. In that position, he convinced KSU President Lester Lefton to commit the university to the rebirth of the Kent community.
Many players and factors contributed to transforming Kent into the college town it is still in the process of becoming. Ron Burbick, Acorn Alley, the repurposed Franklin Hotel, PARTA’s $20 million TIGER grant and parking, Ron Pizzuti and the Kent State Hotel and Conference Center, Kent City Council’s commitment to block debt financing Haymaker, the effervescent and persevering Dan Smith – the memory of all this and much, much more comes to mind.
Without the university’s involvement, the rejuvenation of downtown Kent would not have achieved the award-winning quality it has, and Gregg Floyd was the person behind the scenes who oversaw many of these details.
It involved purchasing and clearing all property between Haymaker and East Erie Street for the land bridge connecting the campus and downtown, supporting the Kent State Hotel and Conference Center, and helping with the successful PARTA grant application which made parking possible. .
Floyd comes to Kent from Indiana University in Bloomington, where he served as a financial administrator for nearly 20 years. He obtained his high school education at Indiana University, when it had a laboratory school. Indiana University was also where he received his undergraduate degree, an MBA, and a law degree.
His familiarity with the Indiana University-Bloomington relationship and his genuine desire to help the Kent community made him a perfect match for City Manager Dave Ruller. Their partnership became an effective partnership that evolved into a friendship.
Floyd, as part of the urban dress revival, also advocated for greater university involvement in the local business community. Kent State, as a multi-county operation, utilizes the services of large regional banks. Floyd continued with this, but arranged for a portion of Kent State’s funds to be deposited at Hometown Bank and Portage Community Bank.
I think of Floyd as a 5-foot-9 gentleman whose heart and mind for the advancement of the community was the proverbial 10 feet tall. He liked the people here. His friendliness, good sense of humor, and lack of pretense made him easy to like. A strong supporter of Kent State intercollegiate sports, he could often be found cheering on the Golden Flashes football, basketball, and baseball teams. In 2016, following his departure from Kent State, the Golden Flashes named Floyd an honorary member of the Varsity K.
He had a twinkle in his eye and liked to mingle with the locals. One of his favorite lunch spots was the McDonald’s on South Water Street, where, in his friendly, inimitable manner, he challenged the regulars he met on their perceptions of campus life.
After his return to Bloomington, I once told him on the phone that I would treat him to a good meal if he came back for a visit. Floyd seemed satisfied.
“Gregg,” I said, “McDonald’s is waiting for us.”
Floyd was interviewed by President Lester Lefton. When the president wanted to improve the campus with a clock tower, Floyd, feeling that the timing was wrong and that the money was needed elsewhere, advised his boss not to do so. Instead, Floyd and Lefton made periodic visits to programs on campus that needed more support. I remember him saying that Lefton’s frank Eastern manner really masked a good heart. He once recounted an episode in which he took the president to visit KSU’s preschool program. Floyd said Lefton was so moved to see educators work with young people that as he left, the president shook his head and told Floyd, “Take care of them. Give them everything you can.”
Diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, Floyd returned to his former home in Bloomington to spend his final years with his beloved wife, Janet, his children, grandchildren and sister.
With his passing, Kent and the Portage County community have lost a friend. It is best to express gratitude while the person is alive. Sadly, Gregg Floyd is gone, but it would be appropriate if the Kent Area Chamber of Commerce could somehow recognize Floyd posthumously for what he did for the Kent community. At least your survivors will know this.
David E. Dix is a former editor of The Record-Courier.
This article originally appeared on the Repository: Remembering Gregg Floyd, a Key Actor in Kent’s Renaissance
