David Ross Boyd (July 31, 1853 – November 17, 1936) was an American educator and the first president of the
University of Oklahoma
The University of Oklahoma (OU) is a Public university, public research university in Norman, Oklahoma. Founded in 1890, it had existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two Territories became the state of Oklahom ...
.
Boyd was born in
Coshocton, Ohio
Coshocton is a city in and the county seat of Coshocton County, Ohio, United States approximately 63 mi (102 km) ENE of Columbus. The population was 11,216 at the 2010 census. The Walhonding River and the Tuscarawas River meet in Cos ...
, and obtained a doctorate degree from the small
College of Wooster
The College of Wooster is a private liberal arts college in Wooster, Ohio. Founded in 1866 by the Presbyterian Church as the University of Wooster, it has been officially non-sectarian since 1969 when ownership ties with the Presbyterian Church ...
,
where he was a member of the
Beta Theta Pi
Beta Theta Pi (), commonly known as Beta, is a North American social fraternity that was founded in 1839 at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. One of North America's oldest fraternities, as of 2022 it consists of 144 active chapters in the Unite ...
fraternity. He began his career as a superintendent of the
Van Wert, Ohio
Van Wert is a city in and the county seat of Van Wert County, Ohio, United States. The municipality is located in northwestern Ohio approximately 77 mi (123 km) SW of Toledo and 34 mi (54 km) SE of Fort Wayne, Indiana. The po ...
school system from 1880 to 1888 when he left and took over the
Arkansas City, Kansas
Arkansas City () is a city in Cowley County, Kansas, United States, situated at the confluence of the Arkansas River and Walnut River in the southwestern part of the county. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 11,974. The n ...
school system. While there, members of the Board of Regents of the University of Oklahoma came to his schools to view the heating system that Boyd had installed. The Board was impressed and chose him as the University's first president
with a salary of
$2,400.
In addition to his role as University President, he also served as Professor of Mental and Moral Science, as he was a devout
Presbyterian
Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...
.
He brought his religion with him to the university where he held chapel services each morning, which included
Scripture
Religious texts, including scripture, are texts which various religions consider to be of central importance to their religious tradition. They differ from literature by being a compilation or discussion of beliefs, mythologies, ritual prac ...
readings and a brief three-minute sermon.
Around the turn of the 20th century, Boyd was president of the
territorial
A territory is an area of land, sea, or space, particularly belonging or connected to a country, person, or animal.
In international politics, a territory is usually either the total area from which a state may extract power resources or a ...
university as well as the territorial Board of Education, making him the most prominent man in education in the area.
Shortly after arriving in
Norman, Oklahoma
Norman () is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of Oklahoma, with a population of 128,097 as of 2021. It is the largest city and the county seat of Cleveland County, Oklahoma, Cleveland County, and the second-largest city in the Oklahoma C ...
, he began a project for which he has since become best known. He began preparations for planting thousands of trees around campus, and began buying young trees from a
bankrupt
Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debt ...
nursery in
Wichita, Kansas
Wichita ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Sedgwick County, Kansas, Sedgwick County. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of the city was 397,532. The Wichita metro area had ...
.
At first, the people of Norman were outraged, but when they learned Boyd was purchasing the trees and the water with his own money they became grateful. He reportedly planted nearly 10,000 trees in his first 18 months on the job and developed a campus nursery with more than 40,000 trees.
After the Oklahoma Territory became the
State of Oklahoma
Oklahoma (; Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a state in the South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the north, Missouri on the northeast, Arkansas on the east, New M ...
, one of the first acts of the new Oklahoma Governor,
Charles N. Haskell
Charles Nathaniel Haskell (March 13, 1860 – July 5, 1933) was an American lawyer, oilman, and politician who was the first governor of Oklahoma. As a delegate to Oklahoma's constitutional convention in 1906, he played a crucial role in draftin ...
, was to replace many of the original faculty at the University. This included Boyd as well as
Vernon Louis Parrington
Vernon Louis Parrington (August 3, 1871 – June 16, 1929) was an American literary historian and scholar. His three-volume history of American letters, ''Main Currents in American Thought'', won the Pulitzer Prize for History in 1928 and was one ...
, the
Harvard
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...
-educated professor who started the English Department and went on to win a
Pulitzer Prize
The Pulitzer Prize () is an award for achievements in newspaper, magazine, online journalism, literature, and musical composition within the United States. It was established in 1917 by provisions in the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made h ...
. The Governor accused Boyd of being an "aristocrat, not democratic enough."
Upon leaving the University of Oklahoma, he became the president of the
University of New Mexico
The University of New Mexico (UNM; es, Universidad de Nuevo México) is a public research university in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Founded in 1889, it is the state's flagship academic institution and the largest by enrollment, with over 25,400 ...
in 1912. He died on November 17, 1936, aged 83.
References
External links
Finding aid for the David Ross Boyd Presidential Papers at the University of New Mexico Center for Southwest Research & Special Collections
{{DEFAULTSORT:Boyd, David Ross
Presidents of the University of Oklahoma
University of New Mexico presidents
American Presbyterians
People from Coshocton, Ohio
College of Wooster alumni
New Mexico Republicans
Ohio Republicans
Oklahoma Republicans
1853 births
1936 deaths