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Celebrating the Life of Trustee Emeritus Robert Friend Boyd
Bob Boyd was the last surviving member of the University's founding Board of Trustees
Featured News | April 10, 2018
Virginia Wesleyan Trustee Emeritus Robert “Bob” Friend Boyd passed away April 7 at the age of 90. He was the last surviving member of the University’s founding Board of Trustees—a living connection to our early history and establishment. He will be missed dearly by the campus community. A celebration of his life will be held at a service at Park Place United Methodist Church on Saturday, April 14, at 11:30 a.m. A reception will follow at the Norfolk Yacht & Country Club.
Mr. Boyd’s long and distinguished service to Virginia Wesleyan dates back to the University’s founding. In June of 1961, Bob led the delegation that took the charter for the institution to the State Corporation Commission, which resulted in the chartering of Virginia Wesleyan College the following month. At the organizational meeting of the Board of Trustees in November of 1961, he was elected the first secretary of the Board. For more than forty years, during Virginia Wesleyan’s formative years, he served in a variety of roles, as secretary, treasurer, vice chairman, and a member of the Executive Committee of the Board. He received an honorary degree from Virginia Wesleyan in 2009, and he continued to serve as a Trustee Emeritus until his passing.
A partner in the law firm of Boyd & Boyd, P.C., Bob was active in professional, civic, and community affairs in Virginia all of his life. He was instrumental in starting the Hampton Roads National Public Radio Station (WHRO-FM). He was active in the United Methodist Church, including his home congregation, Park Place United Methodist Church, and he served as a trustee of the Virginia United Methodist Foundation. Mr. Boyd also held leadership roles on the Boards of the College of William and Mary, the Regent University School of Law, and Randolph-Macon Academy. The College of William and Mary awarded him its highest alumni award, the College of William and Mary Gold Medallion, and the United Methodist Church awarded him the 2008 John Wesley Distinguished Education Award. He earned a B.A. degree from the College of William and Mary and a J.D. degree from the Marshall-Wythe School of Law of the College of William and Mary.
Since the beginning of 小奶猫直播, Mr. Boyd and his late wife, Sara, have been at the heart of the institution, as are the Boyd Dining Center and the statue of John Wesley that they generously bestowed. VWU's Robert F. Boyd Institute is also named in Bob’s honor, paying tribute to his vast contributions to Virginia Wesleyan and the United Methodist Church. The Boyds' son, James M. Boyd, is a 1984 graduate of Virginia Wesleyan, and their grandson, James M. Boyd, Jr., also attended the University.