KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - The University of Tennessee Board of Trustees voted unanimously Friday to appoint Interim President Randy Boyd to a 5-year term as president.
The Tennessee alumnus faced some opposition when he was initially appointed in 2018 over his lack of experience in higher education. That was not the case on Friday as the trustees took turns praising Boyd’s leadership during an online meeting.
Before his appointment, the board surveyed students, faculty and other constituencies about Boyd’s leadership. Boyd also held town hall meetings at the university’s campuses. At the Friday meeting, Board Chair John Compton said there was strong support for Boyd to continue as president and called him “absolutely the right person to lead the University at this time.”
Trustee Brad Box said that as the parent of a UT sophomore who was taking classes “upstairs online right now” he was appreciative of all Boyd and Compton have done during the coronavirus crisis.
“This is the honor of my life,” Boyd said after the vote. ”I realize this is an incredible responsibility, and I try to live up to it every day. I’ve dedicated the rest of my life to giving back, and I can’t think of a better place to do it.”
The University of Tennessee system includes the flagship campus in Knoxville, campuses in Chattanooga and Martin, the Health Science Center in Memphis, the Space Institute in Tullahoma, and the statewide Institute of Agriculture and Institute for Public Service.
During his time as interim president, Boyd established the UT Promise scholarship program providing free tuition for Tennessee residents whose family household income is less than $50,000 a year and are academically qualify to attend UT. He also led the initiative that created the Oak Ridge Institute at UT and he reunited UT Knoxville and UT Institute of Agriculture, according to a news release on the appointment.
Boyd will continue to serve without a salary but will receive $10,000 per year to cover state health insurance costs, according to the release.
When he was first appointed in 2018, Boyd had just lost to Bill Lee in the Republican gubernatorial primary and had recently served as state Economic and Community Development commissioner under former Gov. Bill Haslam.
Boyd also was an architect of Haslam’s Drive to 55 initiative, which is aimed at increasing the number of Tennesseans with a postsecondary degree or certificate to 55 percent by 2025.
Boyd founded Radio Systems Corp., a Knoxville company that produces invisible fences and other pet products.
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