Happy 60th wedding anniversary to alums Myrna, ’63, and Gary, ’62, Floyd! The two met at UNI at an orientation square dance and have been partners in life ever since.

Myrna and Gary taught for a combined 64 years, believing their contribution was partial payback for the great education they received at UNI. “The most significant impact on our careers has been our start here,” said Gary. “We still remember the names and faces of our instructors.”

As a result of their love for teaching and students, the Floyds have created funds that, through the years, have resulted in 94 scholarships and summer research fellowship awards for biology and science education students. Their future support also calls for the creation of the Myrna and Gary Floyd Endowed Professorship in Plant Biology. For their support of students and programs, they received the UNI Foundation’s first Presidential Philanthropy Award in 2012.

Last year, the Myrna and Gary Floyd Endowed Scholarship in Biology was awarded to third-year student Alison Peck. “It has been an honor to be selected for this scholarship. As we all know, paying for college can be very difficult, especially when you go to school full time and need to work year-round to afford it. However, with the help of this scholarship and others like it, students like me can focus more of our time on enriching experiences rather than strictly working just to afford college,” said Alison. “This scholarship in particular has enabled me to spend more time volunteering for nonprofits related to my major and participating in fun, on-campus clubs this year. For these and all other benefits from this scholarship, I am very grateful."

“To care about students is not a trivial thing,” said Gary. “You have to care that they learn and when your love for that develops, you revel in it. One of the great rewards in teaching is looking at a room full of students and seeing in their expressions that they are really thinking about the topic you are presenting. Our support for the Summer Undergraduate Research Program in biology over the years gives us additional satisfaction in knowing that lots of students are getting to experience the excitement and rewards of original research. UNI helped us develop that passion. By establishing these funds, we can help ensure other students get the same good start we did.”

The Floyds really understand the value of a good education as the basis of career
development. Over their 30-plus-year teaching careers, Myrna was honored as teacher of the year in a central Ohio community and honored as TV Network NBC’s Woman of the Year for Columbus. Gary was honored with the top Ohio State University Distinguished Teacher of the Year Award and the top Distinguished Researcher of the Year Award. He was also recognized for a lifetime of notorious research by the Botanical Society of America and honored with the Award of Excellence for Scholarly Research Contributions by the Phycological Society of America.

Thank you, Myrna and Gary, for your years of devoted teaching and for making such an impact in the lives of so many students at UNI!

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