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University President William Boyd's methods
as an administrator during the past seven months
have irked students and faculty. His past
administrative positions are analyzed in...
A look at the president
V *1
By Patty Farrell and Chris Jupp
Photos by Greg Clark
Of the Emerald
Editor's note: William Boyd was
University of Oregon president
for only six weeks when he
found himself in the middle of
heated controversy. Now,
seven months later, his policies
still draw student attacks. Why
has he spate ed such continued
and prolonged criticism?
The writers have spent the last
four weeks examining Boyd as
an administrator and as an in
dividual. They talked to people
in Michigan, where Boyd was
also a university president, and
traveled to Befc eley to research
Boyd's years as an adminis
trator there. Today’s story
traces Boyd's history as an
administrator. Wednesday's
story will examine Boyd's per
sonality.
"I don t have much of a record
here at all. I would hope that after
I d been here a long enough time
to have compiled a record, that I
would be well regarded But
when students at the campus al
ready picture me as a racist and a
bigot-you know, a guy s got to run
awfully fast to catch up."
Most people at the University,
including the president himself,
agree that William Boyd has some
catching up to do before he can
start compiling a very successful
record here. People differ in their
perceptions of how far and how
fast the man should have to run,
though. Many faculty and adminis
trators see the last seven heated
months of Boyd's career as his
adjustment period, while stu
dents are less patient and less
kind in their assessment of the ac
tions of the new University presi
dent.
Seven months ago. when Boyd
first took office, he told the Univer
sity community that he would
start off just by listening. Those
who are looking for any dramatic
changes will be disappointed.” He
predicted that any differences in
the University's operation would
by "stylistic."
In those last seven months,
Boyd has been anything but dis
creet. He's been listening all rg ht;
but he's been hearing some harsh
words from demanding students,
outraged minorities and disgrun
tled faculty. Boyd's quick actions
and unpopular decisions have
thrown him into the middle of more
controversy than this University
has seen in a long time.
The man who said seven
months ago that he hoped to be
"close to students" at this Univer
sity has been criticized for tram
pling on student rg hts, for ignor
ing student opinions and for keep
ing students out of the decision
making process. Students claim
he is uncompromising and has a
hard personality to deal with.
But when Boyd came to this
University, he had every reason to
believe he would be close to stu
dents. As Vice-Chancellor for
Student Affairs at the University of
California (UC) in Berkeley from
1966 through 1968, and for the
following seven years as presi
dent of Central Michigan Univer
sity (CMU). Boyd was popular and
praised for his constructive in
teraction with students. The ad
verse picture student leaders at
this University paint of Boyd is in
congruous with his past record as
an administrator and a 'champ
ion' of student rights.
The inconsistency is perplex
ing and frustrating. Why is a man
who was previously well accepted
meeting with such opposition at
this University?
Perhaps, as Boyd believes, the
first few months of his administra
tion were made to look bad be
cause of circumstances — a
rash of student requests he felt he
had to deny.
It's partly just stylistic, and
parity the circumstance of the per
sonalities that are interacting here
so far and the particular set of is
sues that happened to come up,"
Boyd says. I think that circum
stance has brought up a lot of
questions in a row that elicited a
no answer.
The ASUO feels Boyds "no"
answers are denying students a
place in the decision-making pro
cess of the University. Minorities
and faculty feel his reorganization
of the minority program is under
mining their right to a fair and de
cent education. But along with
dissatisfaction over Boyd's final
actions, people resent his
decision-making methods.
One of the main complaints
which ASUO leaders have raised
against Boyd is that he does not
listen sincerely to their requests
and advice and is therefore unwil
ling to compromise or offer alter
natives.
ASUO Pres. Jim Bernau has
probably spent more time with
Boyd than any other student at the
University.But most of that time is
spent in argument, and few con
structive results have come out of
the interaction.
"We want a commitment from
him to help us find solutions to the
problems we re facing," says Ber
nau. "Why should a special bur
den be placed on the students? By
the nature of his job he has an
obligation to provide administra
tive remedies for the University’s
shortcomings."
Bernau's major complaint has
been that while Boyd denies stu
dent requests, he offers no alter
natives or suggestions to help the
ASUO achieve its goals.
But the charge that Boyd is ob
livious to the student voice and is
unwilling to compromise and work
out solutions to student problems
finds little basis in his past ad
ministrative roles.
At Berkeley, Boyd spent much
of his time working directly with
students, trying to forge some kind
of communication between the
Berkeley administration and a
hostile student body.
The Associated Press called
Boyd “the man whose job it is to
keep the peace between the Uni
versity of California administration
and the student activists at
Berkeley." Boyd felt his position
"was the most exciting job in the
United States at the time. I think I
was the luckiest guy alive.’’
In his role as a mediator, Boyd
did not advance his own policies,
but acted under the guidelines of
Chancellor Roger Heyns. Much of
his time was spent defending and
clarifying these policies.
“I was a very active participant
in the debates that were going on
at the Berkeley campus," says
Boyd. “I was someone who at
least tried to explain what the
administration's position was —
someone who could interpret the
University for both students and
the community. I was a troub
leshooter working where the ac
tion was.
In keeping the peace," Boyd
met frequently with student lead
ers and spoke often to the hun
dreds of students who assembled
for rallies in Sprout Plaza, the site
of Berkeley's free speech plat
form.
People at Berkeley felt that
Boyd respected students as indi
viduals and usually expressed
sympathy with their demands.
Some especially remembered
him for the amount of time he
spent working toward a com
Dromise with students
Pat Quinn, Boyd's secretary
while he was at Berkeley, remem
bers his frequent meetings with
students.
'He was always accessible to
students. I don t think I've every
kept such a busy calendar for an
administrator. I think he took his
responsibility toward students
very seriously."
The dean of students under
Boyd. Arleigh Williams, praises
him for his willingness to com
promise and his objectivity.
‘I cannot conceive of him doing
anything unilaterally without con
sidering many other opinions. He
was always able to accept an ar
gument that was better than his
own."
Students remember that Boyd
worked well with them and that he
didn't face much opposition and
had few enemies.
Sure, he had his problems at
Berkeley, but then every adminis
trator did at that time," says Buzz
Barber, a 1968 graduate who is
now a San Francisco lawyer. “I
just don't remember anybody dis
liking him personally. Barber also
says Boyd was not particularly
controversial as an administrator.
But Doug Turner, chairer of the
1967 student senate and an ac
tivist in UC politics and demon
strations, remembers an issue
which threw Boyd into the middle
of heated controversy with stu
dents. Turner feels Boyd's major
problem in dealing with students
was that he sometimes under
estimated their goals and their de
termination.
The Berkeley administration at
that time began moves to take
over control of ASUC finances.
Charging the student government
with irresponsible allocation of
student fees, the UC administra
tion decided to take away that
power. Boyd was the administra
tive heavy assigned to carry out
the job.
Boyd thought the administration
could rapidly assert its power and
was frustrated when students re
fused to watch what little power
they had slip away, Turner says.
“His job was to execute the ex
propriation, and he expected to do
it with a minimum of controversy.
But he ran into a lot of protest that
two years later ended in the ad
ministration finally giving the
money back.”
Boyd had left Berkeley before
the issue was finally settled.
The ASUO has also com
plained about Boyd's underesti
mation of students' political matur
ity. Bernau claims the communi
cation problem is caused by
Boyd’s refusal to take students
seriously.
Students at CMU admit their
student body is not as concerned
with the kinds of political and
moral issues that attract Berkeley
and Eugene students.
Boyd had been at CMU two
years before Vietnam protests
reached their peak at Michigan.
Boyd says his job at Berkeley
made the conservative commun
ity of Mt. Pleasant, Mich., wary of
him and aprehensive of how he
would handle the Vietnam de
monstrations.
“Because I was familiar with the
protests, I wasn't threatened by
them,' says Boyd. “It was the out
side community that felt
threatened And consequently at
Michigan, just by circumstance,
students viewed me as their
champion against a hostile out
side world.”
The students' high opinion of
Boyd lasted until the day he left.
Boyd helped students form an as
sociation (ASCMU), where they
had previously had no power at
the university.
There were a lot of hassles, and
Boyd just helped us work them
out,' says Chuck Korn, 19 74-75
CMU student body treasurer. He
always tried to see both sides of
an issue and to do what was fair.
He was very pro-student and a
very likeable man. If you've met
him, you know that.
But Korn admits Boyd was
somewhat cautious about student
involvement. He always said he
was for maximum student in
volvement. But student involve
ment means different things to dif
ferent people. Korn feels Boyd
sometimes had a different percep
tion of it than students did.
But 1974-75 ASCMU Pres. Bill
Pilchek feels Boyd "actively
sought student participation. Boyd
accepted and solicited student in
volvement more than any other
administrator I ve worked with."
Pilchek did say whenever Boyd
was not in favor of a student pro
posal before CMU's Faculty
Senate, he could usually per
suade the faculty to vote against it.
Boyd was criticized for doing
the same thing at this University
when he so strongly opposed the
student proposal for a McArthur
Court governing board before the
General Faculty. His objections,
coupled with University attorney
Dave Frohnmayer's legal quarrels
over the wording of the proposal,
effectively stifled any discussion
of the motion. Many students felt
Boyd overpowered the faculty
with his position as president
when he relinquished the chair to
speak against the proposal.
A factor of Boyd's administra
tion which is often as influential as
his policies and politics is that the
president rarely hides his emo
tions.
Unlike many administrators,
Boyd does not attempt to throw up
an administrative shield to guard
his personal feelings from the at
tacks endured in his job.
But the apparent benefits of an
open personality may be
counter-balanced by drawbacks.
Turner remembers students re
spected Boyd for his personal ap
proach to problems, but this per
sonal touch caused some difficul
ties.
“All the pressures put him into a
corner. I could understand his
predicament." Turner, who was
meeting with Boyd “a couple of
times a week,” says Boyd was
“open to the students’ position,
and he was never very happy
about what he had to do. He was
really just the wrong guy in the
wrong job at the wrong time.”
Turner says what impressed
him most about Boyd was his
“human characteristics.” He said
students felt they could relate to
Boyd, especially since he let his
emotions become a part of his
dealings.
“I always thought he was a
pretty nice guy. He would lose his
temper, and he tended to take our
criticism of the administration too
personally.’ But, Turner says, his
emotions made Boyd much easier
to work with than other adminis
trators. "If I had my druthers, I'd
rather be dealing with Bill Boyd.”
Robert Cole, a liberal Berkeley
law professor and faculty consul
tant to the 1966 UC administra
tion. aiso remembers Boyd s emo
tions caused him some problems.
"Unlike most administrators, he
was willing to put his heart on his
sleeve. Cole Says. “He was al
ways thought of the students as
individuals. But when he had to be
tough, his reaction was to get very
tough because he could not re
main detached. This made him
vulnerable.
Boyd’s straightforward
politics often cause as much fric
tion as his candid personality.
He does not worry about the tim
ing of his decisions or the effect
his statements might have upon
opponents.
In fact it is the bluntness of
Boyd's decisions which may be
responsible for his early opposi
tion here.
"It's not local style to be as can
did as I got used to being, Boyd
says. "It was very much the
Berkeley style for people to say
exactly what they were thinking.
Berkeley prided itself on the fact
that people didn't mind being ab
rasive with one another. There
was almost a zeal for it. And I
picked up some habits that I’ll
probably have to give up."
To adjust to what he believes is
a more sensitive atmosphere,
Boyd is planning to take the bite
out of his politics.
"I think so much of the problem
is stylistic," he says. “I'm trying to
change my style, to be less abra
sive
"I've been trying to be sweeter, I
really have. Have you noticed?
I’ve quit making irreverent com
ments."
Different personalities, different
circumstances and different indi
vidual styles help explain why
Boyd has sparked the controversy
of the last seven months. Of
course, his reception at this uni
versity is bound to be somewhat
different than that which he has
encountered before, since the
people and the issues are not the
same.
Hopefully, the president’s
rocky beginning is just the
University's painful adjustments
to a new president with new ways.
The fact is Boyd has been well
accepted in his previous adminis
trative roles. He has a deep com
mitment to the University and to its
future. Unless antagonists can
work to compromise demands in
open discussion, the opposition
that Boyd has faced this year
could foreshadow a rough future
of conflict.