Boyd was born in Coshocton, Ohio, and obtained a bachelor's, master's, and honorary doctorate degree from the small College of Wooster,[1] where he was a member of the Beta Theta Pi fraternity.

While there, members of the Board of Regents of the University of Oklahoma came to his schools to view the heating system that Boyd had installed.

[1] In addition to his role as University President, he also served as Professor of Mental and Moral Science,[4] as he was a devout Presbyterian.

He brought his religion with him to the university where he held chapel services each morning, which included Scripture readings and a brief three-minute sermon.

This included Boyd as well as Vernon Louis Parrington, the Harvard-educated professor who started the English Department and went on to win a Pulitzer Prize.