William Beaty Boyd

1923 - 2020

William Beaty Boyd

1923 - 2020

Dr. William Beaty ("Bill") Boyd died peacefully at home in Racine, Wisconsin on December 16 after a short illness. He was 97.

Dr. Boyd, a native of South Carolina, was President of the University of Oregon before coming to Racine in 1980 to become the second president of The Johnson Foundation at Wingspread.  

Dr. Boyd was the son of the late Francis T. and Eunice (Beaty) Boyd.  His mother affectionately called him "Billy" when he was young. Born in coastal Mount Pleasant, S.C., he had a great love of sailing which stayed with him throughout his life. He attended high school in nearby Charleston before serving in the United States Navy in World War II and the Korean War. He received his B.A. from Presbyterian College and his M.A. from Emory University.

He began a distinguished academic career in 1954, earning his Ph.D. in Modern Diplomatic History from the University of Pennsylvania. His career spanned four decades:  after teaching for four years in the Humanities Department at Michigan State University, he moved into academic administration, first as Dean of the Faculty at Alma College, then as a dean and Director of the Honors Program at Ohio State University, and next as Vice-Chancellor for Student Affairs at the University of California, Berkeley. From 1968 to 1975 he was President of Central Michigan University, and in 1975 he became President of the University of Oregon. He left academia in 1980 to assume the presidency of the Johnson Foundation. He retired in 1988 as President Emeritus of the Johnson Foundation. 

Dr. Boyd was awarded five honorary degrees during his career. He was also a member of the Phi Beta Kappa and Phi Alpha Theta national honor societies. 

In Racine, he was a board member of a variety of community organizations. He was particularly proud of his service with the Racine Community Foundation and its Kids First Fund, in conjunction with the Racine Unified School District. He also served on the National Committee on United States-China Relations in New York City. 

Dr. Boyd was a world traveler. He spoke with pride of clandestinely delivering what would have been deemed subversive material to a Jewish "refusenik" in Moscow during a trip to the Soviet Union in the 1970s.  Although he ate well during his travels and at professional functions throughout his career, his lunch of choice with friends in recent years was a walleye sandwich at The Yardarm in Racine.

Dr. Boyd was married twice:  to Ruth Louise Philson Boyd (d. 2016) from 1945 to 1976, and to Karen Johnson Boyd, whom he married in 1982 and who predeceased him in 2016. Dr. Boyd quipped that friends sometimes accused him of marrying her for the Frank Lloyd Wright house she lived in, which she commissioned in 1954.   

Dr. Boyd is survived by his daughters Marcie Boyd and Susan (Boyd) Greenwell and her husband Ronald; grandchildren Jennifer Baker and Jeffrey Greenwell and their respective spouses Brad and Meghan; great-grandchildren Lucas and Avery Baker; nephews Donald Boyd, John Boyd and James David Boyd; nieces Mary Donehower, Cleo Boyd and Karen Jones; the children and granddaughter of Karen Johnson Boyd:  Nikolina, Henrietta, Harold (Bill) and Onnolee Keland; plus many friends and devoted caregivers.

A celebration of Dr. Boyd's life will be held at a future date.  Donations in Dr. Boyd's memory can be made to the Kids First Fund at the Racine Community Foundation: https://www.racinecommunityfoundation.org/

MARESH-MEREDITH & ACKLAM FUNERAL HOME AND CREMATORY

803 MAIN ST. RACINE, WI 53403

(262)634-7888

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