Arnold Boyd, program coordinator for Temple’s Office of Student Activities, died Nov. 3. He was 57 years old.
Representatives from Campus Safety Services and the Office of Communications could not confirm the cause of Boyd’s death when contacted by “The Temple News” Monday.
Boyd, a native of Los Angeles arrived at Temple in 1981.
“It’s just hard for us right now,” Associate Director for the Office of Student Activities Gina D’Annunzio said.
As program coordinator for the Office of Student Activities, Boyd was responsible for registering more than 150 student organizations, offering workshops in conjunction with the Student Assistance Center and planning events for the Office of Student Activities.
During his tenure, Boyd helped coordinate several events including Homecoming, Spring Fling, African American Heritage Month and Student Leadership Retreat programs.
“It’s such a tragedy,” Temple Student
Government Vice President of Student
Affairs Priya Patel said. “He was such a great man … He seemed to have a positive
effect on everybody. I don’t know how he was able to relate to students so easily, but he did.”
Many students described Boyd as a kind and accessible administrator who had an infectious sense of humor.
“You could tell he was a good person,”
TSG Student Life chair Brendan Bailes said.
“He wanted to make life as fun as possible
for himself and others around him,” he said. “His drive to help students, his drive to plan good events and to plan educationally and culturally significant events for students was unparalleled … He was an administrator who was driven and really cared about student life.”
Because of his involvement with student
organizations, Boyd was a mainstay at TSG general assembly meetings, usually giving a report at the weekly gatherings.
“He would sit in our allocations meetings,” TSG President Raysean Hogan said. “He was a part of everything that we do.
“He always had a smile on his face,” Hogan continued. “Whether it was a good day or a bad day, you could never tell with him. He always seemed happy. He was a genuinely nice guy. I can’t remember one time where I saw him upset or distraught.”
During the 2004 fall semester, TSG honored Boyd for attending every general assembly meeting and several TSG events.
“This is where things happen,” Boyd said upon receiving the honor. “That’s why I come every Monday.”
In April 2003, Boyd and three other men helped pull an elderly woman out of a burning rowhome on the 1100 block of Jefferson Street.
“It was like ‘I have to go [in the house],” Boyd told “The Temple News” at the time. “I wasn’t thinking that the house was on fire. I was going out on faith.
“There are miracles in life…that motivate you and give you new insight into life,” he said. “This gave me a renewed faith … I [helped] to save a life. I’m just glad that I had a chance to help someone.”
Boyd was an avid jazz fan and was involved in Trane Stop, a nonprofit educational advocacy organization which promotes the awareness and appreciation of jazz music.
Tyson McCloud can be reached at tyson@temple.edu.
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