Forever Green
In the Boyd family, the blood runs green.
For 32 years, Dr. Bob Boyd, ’74, ’79, dedicated his career to the University of North Dakota, most notably as Vice President for Student and Outreach Services. Known for always putting students first, Bob earned the nickname “Mr. UND” from former president Robert Kelley – a name that reflected Bob’s commitment to the campus community.
While Bob championed college students, his wife, Dawn, ’91, devoted her career to younger learners as a speech pathologist in the Grand Forks, Larimore, and Thompson public schools.
Together, they shared a “wonderful journey” at UND. “It’s a place that brought us such pleasure knowing we were in an institution intent on helping people and helping students be their best,” Dawn said. “We gained so many wonderful friends through our association with the university, at the administrative and staff levels, but also among the students. Those were wonderful years.”
Dawn and Bob Boyd always welcomed students, devoted to helping them grow in knowledge and in character.
The Working Years
After serving in school administration in Minot, Bob became UND Director of Extension Services in 1978, and moved the family to Grand Forks. Within six months, he was named dean of Continuing Education. In 1998, he became Vice President for Student and Outreach Services, a role he held until 2010.
Behind the scenes, Dawn kept the home team running. After a few years working as a speech pathologist in Minot, she stepped away to raise their children. Sixteen years later, she returned to UND to earn her master’s degree in speech-language pathology. “I was old enough to be the mother of a lot of my classmates. But it was a stretching experience, and served me well.”
As a speech pathologist, Dawn served students from preschool through high school.
Meanwhile, Bob worked under four different UND presidents, continuously championing the students. He introduced technology that opened doors for part-time learners, strengthened student health and wellness programs, advocated for minority and Native American students, and promoted financial literacy. His impact is still seen in the Wellness Center, the American Indian Student Services Center, and UND’s move to Division I athletics.
Bob completed one last assignment for the president in 2011, retiring just as Dawn hung up her own career hat.
Just Say Yes
In 2023, Bob received UND’s highest honor, the Sioux Award for Distinguished Achievement and Leadership. When asked to reflect on career highlights, his list was long – many stemmed from his policy of always saying yes.
One of the most memorable “yeses” came in 1997, when the Red River flooded Grand Forks and forced UND students and faculty to flee. Boyd organized a toll-free hotline to track displaced members of the UND community, and then tackled the nearly impossible task of keeping summer school open. He also led a fall enrollment drive.
“The whole university played a very important role of saying, ‘You're all welcome to come on back; we are coming back to life,’” he said. The result: UND rebounded stronger, setting and achieving a new enrollment goal of 13,000 students.
Together, Bob and Dawn always welcomed students, devoted to helping them grow in knowledge and in character. For the Boyds, UND wasn’t just a workplace; it was family. They still bleed green.
