Dr. Boyd is a prolific motivational speaker, a powerful preacher and a prominent advocate for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM).
Columbia, SC, March 14, 2024, Benedict College continues its Women’s History Month programs on Sunday, March 17, 2024, at 4 p.m. in Antisdel Chapel. The Rev. Dr. Gwendolyn Elizabeth Boyd, who is an engineer and a champion for education, especially as it relates to STEM, will be the keynote speaker.
“It is my distinct honor to welcome Dr. Boyd, a fellow Sister-President to our campus during this celebratory month,” said Dr. Roslyn Clark Artis, President and CEO of Benedict College. “We share a commonality of both being the 14thand first female president of an HBCU. She is a celebrated leader, my Soror, an influential humanitarian, and a champion for education. We are all looking forward to her powerful message on Sunday.”
In 2000, Rev. Dr. Gwendolyn Boyd was elected to serve as the 22nd National President of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc., an international organization of more than 300,000 initiated members. During her tenure from 2000-2004, Boyd was described as a creative and innovative leader. She was known as the “Technology President,” as she facilitated the establishment of technology usage and capacity in all facets of the sorority’s activities and administration. Her four-year tenure as president included several transformative accomplishments, including the launching of Project SEE (Science in Everyday Experiences), an initiative funded by a $1.6 million National Science Foundation grant with a goal of promoting math and science for middle school African American girls. As National President, Boyd created and secured external funding for a new initiative, Leadership DELTA, an innovative year long program for collegiate members to prepare for STEM careers by introducing them to tools for workplace success and providing them with meaningful internships. She led the sorority through the process of obtaining Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) Status at the United Nations with the Economic and Social Council making Delta Sigma Theta the second African American organization to obtain this designation. With the receipt of this NGO status Boyd introduced and led the sorority to have its first annual Delta Day at the United Nations.
As National President, Boyd also led the sorority’s humanitarian, education, advocacy efforts and facilitated fundraising for projects in various parts of South Africa specifically to build a group home for AIDS orphans in Swaziland, establish a computer center in Lesotho and providing a library and other school essentials at the Adelaide Tambo School for the disabled in Soweto. During her administration as President the sorority published a cookbook “Occasions to Savor” featuring vetted recipes from throughout the sorority’s membership. As the 22nd National President, Boyd led the fundraising effort to pay in full a one-million-dollar donation to Howard University in honor of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority’s Founders and to provide academic scholarships at Howard University during the sorority’s 90th anniversary celebration in Washington, DC.
In 2013, Boyd served as Chair of the sorority’s Centennial Celebration. The Centennial Celebration began on January 1, 2013, with a historic float representing the sorority in the Tournament of Roses Parade. The Centennial festivities involved many multifaceted celebratory events throughout the country all year long culminating in a Washington, D.C.-based convention that brought together more than 40,000 members of the sorority from around the world.
Boyd is a native of Montgomery, Alabama and received a full scholarship to attend Alabama State University where she graduated summa cum laude with a Bachelor of Science degree in mathematics with a double minor in physics and music. She received a full fellowship to pursue graduate studies at Yale University where she was the first African American female to earn a M. S. degree in Mechanical Engineering from this Ivy League institution. She earned both the Master of Divinity and the Doctor of Ministry degrees from Howard University. Additionally, she has been awarded an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from Lincoln University (2004), Bennett College (2004) and Kentucky State University (2019) and an Honorary Doctor of Laws from the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff (2019).
Boyd is nationally recognized and in March 2009, she was nominated by President Barack Obama and received U.S. Senate confirmation to serve as a trustee to the Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Foundation. In January 2014, President Obama appointed Boyd and 14 other individuals to serve on the President’s Advisory Commission on Educational Excellence for African Americans. This Commission was charged with strengthening the nation by improving educational outcomes for African Americans and to ensure that all African Americans receive an education that prepares them for college, productive careers and satisfying lives.
Boyd returned to her undergraduate alma mater, Alabama State University (ASU) in January 2014 and for three years she served as the 14th and first female president of ASU. Highlights of her presidency included getting the university its very first engineering degree program with approval for a BS in biomedical engineering. Boyd and her team got the university removed from accreditation warning status with the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) which had been from previous university financial instability. The largest freshman class was documented during her tenure.
Rev. Dr. Gwendolyn Boyd is a minister and an ordained itinerant elder in the African Methodist Episcopal Church. She serves on the ministerial staff of Ebenezer AME Church in Fort Washington, Maryland. She is also a sought-after speaker and lecturer to various audiences on topics including STEM, higher education, HBCUs, leadership development, and non-profit board development. She mentors young people interested in careers in science and engineering.
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About Benedict College (www.benedict.edu)
Founded in 1870 by a woman, Bathsheba A. Benedict, Benedict College is a private co-educational liberal arts institution offering 26 competitive baccalaureate degree programs and two master’s degree programs. The Midlands HBCU welcomes students from all 46 counties in South Carolina, 30 states across America, and 26 countries around the world. The College also has a diverse faculty deeply engaged in teaching, research, and service.
Benedict College has been highly regarded and exceptionally ranked for its programs by several academic and traditional publications. Benedict College received the 2019 ACE/ Fidelity Investments Awards for Institutional Transformation and was named the HBCU of the Year by HBCU Digest. Benedict College was listed among the top half of ranked HBCUs in the 2022 edition of Best Colleges by US News and World Report.
Benedict College is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges to award baccalaureate and master’s degrees. Five of the College’s degree programs hold national accreditation: Social Work Program, Environmental Health Science Program, Environmental Engineering, Studio Art, and the Tyrone Adam Burroughs School of Business and Entrepreneurship.
