Gwendolyn Boyd
{{short description|American scientist and university administrator}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Gwendolyn Boyd
| image = Gwendolyn Boyd in 2015.jpg
| alt = head shot of African American woman with pearls
| caption = Gwendolyn Boyd in 2015
| birth_date = December 27, 1955
| birth_place = Montgomery, Alabama, US
| education = Alabama State University, BS
Yale University, MS
Howard University, M.Div and DMin
| occupation = Mechanical engineer
| years_active = 1980-2013
| employer = Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory
| known_for = President of Alabama State University
}}
Gwendolyn Elizabeth Boyd (born December 27, 1955) is an American scientist and university administrator. She served as president of Alabama State University from 2014 to 2016. Before entering administration, she worked as a mechanical engineer at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory.
Early life and education
Boyd was born in Montgomery, Alabama, on December 27, 1955. Her mother was Dora Lee McClain.[https://www.thehistorymakers.org/sites/default/files/A2007_161_EAC.pdf Biographical Description for The HistoryMakers® Video Oral History with Gwendolyn E. Boyd]. Accessed May 25, 2025. She was orphaned at the age of thirteen, and then raised by her godmother, Emzella Mapson. She attended McDavid Elementary School. Boyd was one of the first five black students to attend Jefferson Davis High School
Boyd won a scholarship to Alabama State University, where she graduated in 1977 with a Bachelor of Science in mathematics.{{Cite web |date=2024-07-31 |title=Gwen Boyd is new CCG Alumni Committee Chair and President |url=https://www.blackengineer.com/imported_wordpress/gwen-boyd-new-ccg-alumni-committee-chair-president/ |access-date=2025-05-26 |website=US Black Engineer and Information Technology |language=en-us}} While at Alabama State, she joined Delta Sigma Theta. She went on to Yale University, in 1979 graduating with a Master of Science degree in mechanical engineering (specializing in acoustics). She received a master's of divinity and a doctorate in ministry from Howard University in 2007.
Career
After graduating, she briefly worked for IBM in Kingston, New York. In 1980, Boyd joined the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) in Laurel, Maryland. She initially worked in the laboratory's Strategic Systems Department, testing and evaluating submarine navigation systems. In 1998, Boyd became the assistant for APL's development programs. In 2004, she was promoted to the executive assistant to the chief of staff.
She was also appointed to Johns Hopkins' Diversity Leadership Council, serving as chair from 2003 to 2005. In 2009, the Obama administration appointed her to the board of the Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship foundation.[https://hub.jhu.edu/2017/02/16/bfsa-exhibit-gwendolyn-boyd/ Engineer for diversity: Gwendolyn Boyd], Johns Hopkins University, February 16, 2017. Retrieved November 21, 2017.
In December 2013, Boyd's alma mater, Alabama State University, announced that she had been appointed as the university's next president, with a term beginning in February 2014. She became the first woman to hold the position.[http://www.tuscaloosanews.com/news/20131220/montgomery-native-gwendolyn-boyd-named-alabama-state-university-president Montgomery native Gwendolyn Boyd named Alabama State University president], Tuscaloosa News, December 20, 2013. Retrieved November 21, 2017. Her new contract contained a clause granting her right of residency in the president's house, but only if she did not "cohabitate with any person with whom she has a romantic relation", which attracted some public attention.[https://abcnews.go.com/US/love-clause-appears-contract-college-president/story?id=21494543 'Love Clause' Appears in Contract of College President], ABC News, 10 January 2014. Retrieved November 21, 2017.
In November 2016, Boyd's presidency was suspended by the ASU board of trustees at a meeting which had initially been called to discuss the university's budget. The following month, the board voted 8–6 to terminate her contract, citing "failure to maintain the confidence of the board".[http://www.al.com/opinion/index.ssf/2016/12/what_alabama_state_and_gwendol.html Gwendolyn Boyd's rocky tenure at Alabama State terminated by Board of Trustees], The Birmingham News, December 16, 2016. Retrieved November 21, 2017.[http://www.al.com/news/montgomery/index.ssf/2016/12/fired_alabama_state_president.html Fired Alabama State President Gwendolyn Boyd: 'Thought we were moving in the right direction'], The Birmingham News, December 18, 2016. Retrieved November 21, 2017.
Honors
Boyd has received honorary doctorates from Bennett College and Lincoln University.
Personal life
Boyd was national president of the Delta Sigma Theta sorority from 2000 to 2004 and is also a member of The Links.[https://hub.jhu.edu/2014/02/17/gwendolyn-boyd-alabama-state/ Gwendolyn Boyd, who spent 33 years at APL, becomes Alabama State president], Johns Hopkins University, February 18, 2014. Retrieved November 21, 2017. She served on the board of directors of Bennett College, the Children’s National Medical Center, Leadership Greater Washington, and the National Partnership for Community Leadership. She is an ordained itinerant elder in the African Methodist Episcopal Church and belongs to the Ebenezer A.M.E Church in Fort Washington, Maryland.
References
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{{Delta Sigma Theta International Presidents}}
{{Alabama State University presidents}}
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Category:Presidents of Alabama State University
Category:Women heads of universities and colleges
Category:People from Montgomery, Alabama
Category:21st-century African-American academics
Category:21st-century American academics
Category:American mechanical engineers
Category:Yale School of Engineering & Applied Science alumni
Category:Alabama State University alumni
Category:Alabama State University faculty
Category:Johns Hopkins University faculty
Category:American academic administrators
Category:20th-century African-American academics