Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/270373
9 centralight spring '14 PHOTOS COURTESY OF CLARKE HISTORICAL LIBRARY William Boyd, president of CMU from 1968-1975 Racine, Wis. Retired What he was known for at CMU: One of Central's most beloved former presidents, who left a legacy of peace during a politically charged time The backstory: "I'll tell you one thing," Boyd says. "I'll probably be the oldest person in this story." At 90, Boyd is as charming as ever. That charm came in handy during his days at CMU as he pioneered collective bargaining with the faculty unions. You can thank his administration for CMU's beautiful campus. "It was mostly parking lots," Boyd recalls. "We tore them out and put in berms." Boyd also knew how to smooth things over. "After Kent State, there was a lot of rioting on campuses," he recalls. "A village sprung up of student tents and shanties. After a few days, it got to be quite a sanitation problem." Boyd compromised with the students, letting them camp out at night if they took down their tents during the day. After a few days, the students packed it in for good. After Central: After leaving CMU in 1975, Boyd was president of the University of Oregon for fi ve years. He gave the OK for a movie to be fi lmed on campus. You may have heard of it – "Animal House." "I thought the nation needed a funny movie," he says about granting the Hollywood producers' request. They even used his offi ce for Dean Wormer's digs. "It was a lot of fun," Boyd says. "The barbers in town loved it. Any students who wanted to be extras in the movie had to get a 1950s haircut. So the barbers were rich." Boyd moved to Racine, Wis., in 1980 and was president of the Johnson Foundation until his retirement. Then he and his wife, Karen, traveled the world – India, Bhutan, New Guinea, Northern Australia and the Pacifi c Islands. These days? "Well, I'm 90, so I have less energy than I had 20 years ago," Boyd says. He's legally blind so he feeds his hunger for reading with audio books on history and current events. Any message for the CMU folks who remember him? "Tell 'em I love 'em," he says. >