In Memoriam – Floyd Grolle

In April of this year, the Office of Technology Licensing (OTL) lost a dear friend, Floyd Grolle. Floyd spent 17 of his 25 Stanford years at OTL, leaving behind a remarkable legacy and lasting impression to those who had the good fortune to work with him. Floyd joined OTL in 1982, and in addition to many other functions, he held the position of Manager of License Administration for Stanford and UC’s Recombinant DNA Cloning Technology until his retirement in 1999. Floyd’s amazing DNA notes and records are still referred to at OTL today.

Floyd grew up on his family’s farm in Perrysburg, Ohio before he went on to obtain many degrees, including a Master’s in Pharmaceutical Chemistry, a Master’s in Market Research and a Ph.D. in Marketing Management Pharmacy from the University of Michigan. Floyd worked in an executive role at many companies, including Upjohn, Becton Dickinson, G.D. Searle, and SRI International before joining Stanford. While his diverse education and experience were impressive, Floyd’s personality and manner are most memorable to those who knew him.

Known for what Kathy Ku, Director of OTL, terms as “Floyd-isms,” Floyd could be heard saying “Today is another day to excel” on most days. He always came to work with a wonderful sense of humor and was completely dedicated to the good of the office. Kathy remembers Floyd finding someone he knew whenever he traveled and labeled him the personification of someone with six degrees of separation from everyone else.

Floyd’s custom carpentry and craftwork live on at the OTL office. Sally Hines, Administrative Services Manager, remembers that if you mentioned something you needed one day, it would magically appear on your desk the next. From the quilted baby blanket Floyd knitted for Kathy’s daughter to Christmas reindeer, wine corkers, children’s rockers, and silk scarves – all are part of a beautiful collection of Floyd’s works of art that have a presence in the OTL office today.

Floyd will be dearly missed by OTL, but he has left many memories that will not be soon forgotten.