Hundreds gather to honor former UI President Willard ‘Sandy’ Boyd

Boyd led the university through a period of growth in enrollment and campus size during his presidency.

University of Iowa Center for Advancement Vice President David Dierks speaks during a Willard “Sandy” Boyd memorial service at Hancher Auditorium on Friday, April 7, 2023. Boyd died on Dec. 13, 2022, at age 95. He was a University of Iowa president for 13 years and served the university for more than 65 years. Dierks shared a story when student protestors in the ‘70s attempted to kidnap Boyd from his office and Boyd invited the students in for coffee.

Sabine Martin, Managing Editor
April 7, 2023

Willard “Sandy” Boyd walked through the center of a crowd of Vietnam War protesters in May 1970 on the Pentacrest to address the University of Iowa student body.

Despite a warning from campus police that Boyd’s appearance was too dangerous during the protests that were sometimes violent, he spoke to thousands of students on the Old Capitol steps with a microphone. To everyone’s dismay, he successfully calmed the huge crowd.

“We must embrace tolerance, persuasion, and concern,” Boyd said at UI commencement on May 28, 1970. “In a democracy, the means are as important as the end is, and no one has the legal or moral authority to usurp the rights of others.”

Over 500 colleagues, community members, and friends and family gathered Friday in Hancher Auditorium to honor Boyd’s life and over 65 years of commitment to the university.

Boyd, who came to the UI in 1954 as a professor in the College of Law and served as one of the university’s longest-tenured presidents, died Dec. 13, 2022, in Iowa City at age 95.

The former UI president is survived by his wife, Susan Kuehn Boyd, their three children, Elizabeth Boyd, Willard Lee Boyd III, and Thomas Boyd, and seven grandchildren.

Timeline by Ryan Hansen/The Daily Iowan

UI President Barbara Wilson said in a statement on Tuesday that Boyd was beloved by the university community and will always remain one of the major figures in UI history.

Boyd served as the 15th president from 1969 to 1981 and returned as a UI law professor in 1996 before serving as interim president from 2002–03, following the resignation of former President Mary Sue Coleman. He retired from the UI in 2015.

“Sandy believed in, and practiced, as a central tenet of his life service to the institutions of which he was a part to the larger community and to other people,” Arthur Bonfield, UI College of Law associate dean emeritus. “He also deeply embraced the cause of justice, fairness, and equality of opportunity through the rule of law for all members of our society.”

A crowd member reacts during a Willard “Sandy” Boyd memorial service at Hancher Auditorium on Friday, April 7, 2023. Boyd died on Dec. 13, 2022, at age 95. He was a University of Iowa president for 13 years and served the university for more than 65 years. Boyd famously said, “The river doesn’t divide us; it only runs through us.” (Ayrton Breckenridge)

Boyd’s work set the stage for unprecedented student enrollment growth and philanthropic fundraising at the UI. Boyd established the State University of Iowa Foundation in 1956, which is now known as the UI Center for Advancement.

Last year, it raised $438 million in gifts and commitments, Lynette Marshall, president and CEO of the UI Center for Advancement, said at the memorial service Friday. In the foundation’s first year, it raised about $28,000, she said.

“Sandy had a quote that I still keep on my desk that I would share,” Marshall said. “Fortunately, we live in an imperfect world, so we can improve it. Fortunately, we live in a diverse world, so we can learn from it. And fortunately, we live in a changing world so we can grow in it.”

Former UI President David Skorton said Boyd was a hero and mentor for him. Skorton worked with Boyd while serving as vice president for research and vice president for external relations before his appointment as president in 2003.

“He was a direct, but gentle critic when I needed to hear it on more than one occasion,” Skorton said. “He was a renowned university president and a leader who then became one of the most respected museum leaders.”

Boyd believed in the transformative power of public higher education, she said.

He guided the university through a period of growth in enrollment of about 16,000 students and in campus size during his presidency. The Hardin Library for the Health Sciences, the Lindquist Center, the Carver-Hawkeye Arena, the Bowen Science Building, the Dental Science Building, and the College of Nursing were also all constructed.

University of Iowa President Barbara Wilson speaks during a Willard “Sandy” Boyd memorial service at Hancher Auditorium on Friday, April 7, 2023. Boyd died on Dec. 13, 2022, at age 95. He was a University of Iowa president for 13 years and served the university for more than 65 years. Boyd gave Wilson advice when she first took with the concluding comment, “Give ‘em hell Barbara.” (Ayrton Breckenridge)

UI President Barbara Wilson said at the service she was struck by his dedication to the university, his deep humanity, enthusiasm, his humor, and brevity from the moment that she met him.

“Sandy’s timeless values and bold vision for this institution were forged in the early days of his leadership at Iowa, and they will continue to live on,” she said.

Wilson highlighted one of many of Boyd’s well-known adages of wisdom: A vibrant university depends on a vibrant Iowa, and a vibrant Iowa depends on a vibrant university.