Alum’s Generosity Inspires Students to Work Harder

“If it hadn’t been for UNC Charlotte, no telling what would have happened to me,” says Jeff Floyd ’77.

Now Vice President and Managing Principal of the Charlotte office of the national architecture firm LS3P, the Robeson County native started college as an engineering student at NC State University, but “didn’t like it,” he says. Hearing that UNC Charlotte had recently started an architecture program, he transferred and graduated in the third cohort of architecture alumni.

It wasn’t long before Floyd was being recognized not only for his design skills, but also for his people skills – building teams, cultivating clients, mentoring other architects. Now, with more than 40 years of experience, he is recognized as an expert in team-built project delivery in the investment development arena for mixed-use, suburban, and urban projects and is the most prolific designer of office buildings for investment and corporate headquarters and operations centers in the Carolinas.

Floyd knows the financial stress of being a student.

“When I graduated I was broke. I had one pair of dress pants and two dress shirts.”

He has thus helped establish three scholarships in the College of Arts + Architecture: the LS3P Scholarship, founded in 2003; the Frederick Gregory Memorial Scholarship, in memory of the 1997 alumnus who was an LS3P designer; and the Lambla Endowed Scholarship, which Floyd jumpstarted in 2019 in honor of retired CoA+A Dean Ken Lambla and encouraged other architecture alumni to support.

“The scholarships are a way to give back and let somebody else have the opportunity that I had,” he says.

Among the students getting that opportunity is Grace Murray, a second-year architecture student and Lambla Scholar from Harleysville, Pennsylvania.

“I am very thankful to be the recipient of the Lambla Scholarship,” Murray says. “Knowing that someone has supported me and my education has only pushed me to work harder.”

Scholarships relieve financial burdens on students, she says, but just as valuable is the encouragement they provide.

“Students continuously work hard and strive for success when attending college. Receiving a scholarship is not only rewarding, but it is encouraging. It feels like the hard work has paid off, and it keeps students motivated, as there is someone who believes in and supports the continuation of their education.”