Distinguished Alumni Award

Willard "Sandy" Boyd and Susan Kuehn Boyd are a remarkable couple who have directed their abundant energies to champion the arts, justice and opportunity for all, and education. A prime beneficiary of their caring attention has been the University of Iowa.

In 1954, when Sandy was appointed to the law faculty of Iowa, the Boyds began their long affiliation with the UI. Promoted to full professor in 1961, Sandy was named associate dean of the College of Law in 1964. After five years as vice president for academic affairs and dean of the facilities, he was appointed the 15th president to the University of Iowa in 1969. Sandy Boyd inherited a campus disturbed by tensions growing out of the civil rights movement and the Vietnam War, but his integrity and ability to deal with all factions evenhandedly served the institution well.

During Sandy's tenure at the University of Iowa and on many occasions since, Susan Boyd has channeled her loyalty and enthusiasm to enrich the campus in countless ways. She has served as a member of the Old Capitol Restoration Campaign National Committee, the Iowa Endowment 2000 Campaign National Steering Committee, the OVATION Campaign for Hancher Auditorium, and several others. She was a volunteer worker and later staff member of the Patient Representative Program at University Hospitals and Clinics.

In 1981, when Sandy resigned the UI presidency to become president of the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago, the Boyds indicated that their 27-year commitment to the University of Iowa would not end.

Both Sandy and Susan Boyd have been deeply involved in numerous civic activities. He currently serves as chairman of the National Museum Services Board and has served as chairman of the American Association of Universities, chairman of the Council of the Section on Legal Education and Admission to the Bar, chairman of Iowa 2000, and as a member of the National Council on the Arts and the Advisory Board of the Metropolitan Opera. In addition to her ongoing involvement on behalf of the University of Iowa, Susan Boyd serves as a board member of Urban Gateways, an organization promoting arts education in Chicago schools, and is a member of the Women's Board of the Field Museum of Natural History.

The Boyds belong to the UI Alumni Association's Directors' Club and the UI Foundation's Presidents Club, which Susan currently chairs. Iowa's Boyd Law Building is named in honor of Sandy Boyd, and University Hospitals' Boyd Tower is named in honor of both Boyds.