Distinguished Service Award

The Distinguished Service Award recognizes alumni for achievements in their careers, leadership in their communities, and their support of K-State and the College of Health and Human Sciences. To be considered for this award, the recipient must have demonstrated significant achievements in his or her chosen career or in community service. Recipients also make contributions and provide leadership in community affairs, organizational and service groups.

2023 Recipient:

Matthew Loyd ‘97

Growing up a curious child who loved nothing more than taking his toys apart just to see how they worked was the perfect preparation for Loyd’s career spent at the forefront of reimaging elder care. While his degree from K-State speaks to his initial plan to work with elders as a Speech-Language Pathologist, the K-State Center on Aging put his feet on the path that was to become his life’s work: nursing home culture change. His passion is dismantling the institutional facility, which honors neither the people who live nor work within them, and rebuilding it as a human habitat where people can continue to learn, grow and simply create life worth living.

Loyd’s life continues to be blessed and enriched by three amazing women. His mother, Georgia, was a nursing home Administrator in his hometown of Hiawatha and instilled in him her love of others and boundless optimism. His wife Allison, also a graduate of K-State, is his biggest supporter and guide. There can be no doubt that success would have surely eluded Loyd without Allison. Together, they have raised their daughter Allyn, a junior at the Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology studying computer science and mathematics.

Loyd’s career has been a case study of being at the right place at the right time. His studies at K-State introduced him to Manhattan’s own Meadowlark Hills and its CEO at the time, Steve Shields. Shields’ leadership took Meadowlark Hills from a sleepy retirement community to an internationally renowned pioneer of the person-centered care movement and provided an example of what’s possible given absurd amounts of love and audacity. Loyd built upon what he learned and has been an innovator at forward-thinking organizations throughout his career. He’s especially proud of the revolutionary changes he nurtured over a decade at Trinity Woods in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Loyd and his wife currently reside in Milwaukee, Wisconsin where he serves Saint John’s on the Lake as chief operating officer. In his spare time, he is still just a curious kid who likes to take apart his toys just to see how they work.

Past Recipients