Boyd, Willard L. (Willard Lee), 1927-

Variant names

Hide Profile

Professor of law at and president of the University of Iowa and president of the Field Museum of Natural History.

From the description of Oral history interview with Willard Boyd, 1981 May 18. (University of Iowa Libraries). WorldCat record id: 233122460

Willard Lee ('Sandy') Boyd served as the fifteenth president of the University of Iowa, from 1969 to 1981. In 1969, at age 42, Boyd became one of the youngest University of Iowa presidents to assume office. He did so during one of the most tumultuous periods of student unrest in the history of the school. Boyd received the Bachelor of Science degree in law from the University of Minnesota in 1949 and the L.L.B. in 1951. He received the L.L.M. from the University of Michigan in 1952 and the S.J.D. in 1962. After practicing law in Minneapolis, he became a professor of law at Iowa in 1954, serving on the faculty until 1964, at which time he was named vice president for academic affairs. As president of the university, Boyd supported increased funding for the institution, including higher faculty salaries. During the student unrest of the early 1970s, Boyd was credited with maintaining dialogue between the administration and student leaders. An advocate of human rights, he was appointed in 1962 as the first chair of the university's Human Rights Committee. From 1981 to 1996, Boyd was president of the Field Museum in Chicago. In 1996, he returned to Iowa to teach law. Among his many honors, he was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2000. In 2002, he was named acting president of the university following the resignation of Mary Sue Coleman, who accepted the presidency of the University of Michigan. In 2003, he received the Rawlings-Miller professorship, the highest honor for a University of Iowa faculty member. Boyd was born in St. Paul, Minnesota, on March 29, 1927. He married Susan Kuehn on August 28, 1954, and they have three children.

From the description of Papers of Willard L. ("Sandy") Boyd, 1969-1976. (University of Iowa Libraries). WorldCat record id: 233184214

Archival Resources
Role Title Holding Repository
creatorOf Boyd, Willard L. (Willard Lee), 1927-. Papers of Willard L. ("Sandy") Boyd, 1969-1976. University of Iowa Libraries
creatorOf Mondale, Joan. Letter to Willard Boyd. Washington, DC. 1977 Apr. 5. University of Iowa Libraries
referencedIn Biological Club papers, 1914-1970 University of Minnesota Libraries. University Archives [uarc]
creatorOf Nixon, Richard M. (Richard Milhous), 1913-1994. Letter to Willard L. Boyd. Washington, DC. 1970 Sept. 18. University of Iowa Libraries
creatorOf Boyd, Willard L. (Willard Lee), 1927-. Oral history interview with Willard Boyd, 1981 May 18. University of Iowa Libraries
creatorOf Williams, Tennessee, 1911-1983. Letter to Willard Boyd, New York, NY, 1974 Nov. 19 [typescript with holograph note]. University of Iowa Libraries
creatorOf Hickerson, Loren, 1918-. Papers of Loren Hickerson, 1940-1983. University of Iowa Libraries
creatorOf Viterbo University. Congratulatory Notes to Dr. Robert E. Gibbons ; 1980. Viterbo University, Todd Wehr Memorial Library
referencedIn Gallagher, Harold John, 1894-1981. Papers, 1910-1981. University of Iowa Libraries
referencedIn Schwengel, Fred, 1907-. Letters to Paul Engle. Washington, DC. 1970. University of Iowa Libraries
creatorOf Flansburg, James Sherman, 1932-. Papers of James S. Flansburg, 1962-1998. University of Iowa Libraries
creatorOf Iowa Governor's Conference on Iowa in the Year 2000. Records of the Iowa Governor's Conference on Iowa in the Year 2000, 1972-1978. University of Iowa Libraries
creatorOf Gallagher, Harold John, 1894-1981. Papers of Harold J. Gallagher, 1910-1981. University of Iowa Libraries
Role Title Holding Repository
Relation Name
associatedWith Cravens, Hamilton, person
associatedWith Flansburg, James Sherman, 1932- person
correspondedWith Gallagher, Harold John, 1894-1981. person
associatedWith Hickerson, Loren, 1918- person
associatedWith Iowa Child Welfare Research Station. corporateBody
associatedWith Iowa Governor's Conference on Iowa in the Year 2000. corporateBody
associatedWith Mondale, Joan. person
associatedWith Nixon, Richard M. (Richard Milhous), 1913-1994 person
associatedWith Schwengel, Fred, 1907- person
associatedWith University of Iowa corporateBody
associatedWith University of Minnesota. Biological Club corporateBody
associatedWith Viterbo University. corporateBody
correspondedWith Williams, Tennessee, 1911-1983. person
Place Name Admin Code Country
Iowa
Iowa
Subject
Child development
College presidents
College presidents
Occupation
Activity

Person

Birth 1927-03-29

Information

Permalink: http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6g463m4

Ark ID: w6g463m4

SNAC ID: 61622199