Boyd Professorship Regulations Amended

During the March 2021 meeting, the LSU Board of Supervisors approved an amendment to Article II, Section 14 of their Regulations regarding Boyd Professorships. Boyd professorships are the highest professorial rank given by the University.  

Previously, the regulations stipulated that the recipient of a Boyd professorship must have national and international distinction. The amended language now reads, “as appropriate” in order to give flexibility for various academic fields where international distinction is not an accurate measure of scholarly or creative achievement.

Additionally, the regulations were updated to allow faculty members who hold administrative roles of director to be considered for Boyd Professorships if their portfolios otherwise meet the requirements. In practice, many senior faculty members hold the designation of “director” of research centers, laboratories, and other academic programs. The regulations now read that no faculty member holding an administrative position of “dean” or higher may be considered for a Boyd professorship, which will preclude any members of senior administration (e.g. dean, provost, vice president, vice provost) from consideration.

The final update was a change to the composition of the Boyd Professor Review Committee. The faculty members on the committee must be Boyd Professors themselves, whether active or emeritus.