William Beaty Boyd (February 2, 1923 – December 16, 2020) was an American academic administrator and professor. Boyd was an alumnus of

Presbyterian College Presbyterian College (PC) is a private liberal arts college in Clinton, South Carolina, United States. It was founded in 1880 and is affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (USA). History Presbyterian College was founded in 1880 by Willia ...

(BA 1946),

Emory University Emory University is a private university, private research university in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. It was founded in 1836 as Emory College by the Methodist Episcopal Church and named in honor of Methodist bishop John Emory. Its main campu ...

(MA 1947), and the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...

(Ph.D. 1954). He was a professor of history at

Michigan State University Michigan State University (Michigan State or MSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan, United States. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State o ...

and

Alma College Alma College is a Private college, private Presbyterian Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Alma, Michigan. It enrolls approximately 1,200 students and is Higher education accreditation in the United States, accre ...

. He was also Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs at the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...

. Boyd served as president of

Central Michigan University Central Michigan University (CMU) is a Public university, public research university in Mount Pleasant, Michigan, United States. It was established in 1892 as a private normal school and became a state institution in 1895. CMU is one of the eigh ...

from 1968 to 1975 and the

University of Oregon The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a Public university, public research university in Eugene, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1876, the university is organized into nine colleges and schools and offers 420 undergraduate and gra ...

from 1975 to 1980. In the fall of 1977, '' National Lampoon's Animal House'' was filmed on the Oregon campus and in greater Eugene. Notably, when he had been the Vice Chancellor at Berkeley, he had been approached with the offer have ''The Graduate'' filmed on Berkeley campus, but when he consulted with other senior administrative colleagues, they advised him to turn it down due to the lack of artistic merit, leading to the film being shot at

USC USC may refer to: Education United States * Universidad del Sagrado Corazón, Santurce, Puerto Rico * University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina ** University of South Carolina System, a state university system of South Carolina * ...

instead. After the movie became a hit, Boyd was determined not to make the same mistake twice. He agreed to allow Animal House to be filmed on the campus, and even his own office to be used, on the condition that the school's name was not to be mentioned in the film. Boyd led the Johnson Foundation, located at Wingspread near

Racine, Wisconsin Racine ( ) is a city in Racine County, Wisconsin, United States, and its county seat. It is located on the shore of Lake Michigan at the mouth of the Root River (Wisconsin), Root River, south of Milwaukee and north of Chicago. It is the List ...

, from 1980 to 1988. He died at his home in Racine, Wisconsin at the age of 97 on December 16, 2020.

References

1923 births 2020 deaths Presidents of Central Michigan University Presidents of the University of Oregon People from Mount Pleasant, South Carolina Presbyterian College alumni Emory University alumni University of Pennsylvania alumni {{Academic-stub