Boyd Science Center

The Boyd Science Center is a place of higher learning of the sciences and technology. It is named after distinguished Muskingum University graduate Thomas Alva Boyd. This building was built in 1971. Boyd is a four-floor building housing the biology, chemistry, geology, mathematics, modern languages, computer science and physics departments.

Boyd Science Center was built in 1972. The construction and planning began in spring of 1969. On April 12th 1969 the ground was broke to begin construction on the building of the science center. By the fall of 1969 the foundation of the building was completed. All of the construction limited the mobility in the winter of students attempting to attend class. This explained the expedient. Building of the frame work of the building that was completed by January 1970. Construction continued through the spring and summer ending with the culminating event of laying the corner stone on October 23rd 1970.

Portion of the reasoning behind spending four million dollars on a new science building was that the science departments needed to be united in one building. During the years before the construction of Boyd Science Center each of the respective departments of the sciences were holding classes in other buildings around the campus. Chemistry classes would be held in Paul Hall. Whereas the Astronomy classes would be held in Cambridge. So as years passed a more important idea of unification of the sciences under one building so students would be more centrally located with their peers. With the new building the sciences would be divided by floor not by building. The first floor would be the physics floor. The second floor would the Geography and Geology floor.  The third floor “lobby Floor” would house the chemistry department including labs and storage. It also held the entrance to the two auditoriums that were to be build. The fourth floor would house the biology department. This unified building ideal and plan then came to be the bases for the fundraising campaigns that would raise almost two million dollars from alumni and the community.

The Boyd Science Center was not always called that. It was originally called the Science center. It was dedicated to a prestigious Muskingum University Alumni Thomas Alvin Boyd. Thomas Boyd attended Muskingum in 1906-07. Boyd had worked for General Motors as the head of the fuel division. Some of the major accomplishments that Thomas Boyd achieved during his life was his involvement in the creation of a knock free aviation fuel a top research priority of WWI. He also became the developer of ethyl Gasoline. Which revolutionized the automotive and air craft engineering fields. Not only did his accomplishments set the standard for higher education.  But even in his death his dedication to education did not end. A sum of 2.7 million was donated to the university fund to help further the sciences after his death by his wife.

During the dedication of the building three heads of their field spoke on the behalf of the sciences. The first is Dr. Paul T. Baker a professor of anthropology at the Pennsylvania State University.  He had conducted research on the effects of altitude on man. The second being Dr. Donald B. Louria head of the department of public Health and Preventive Medicine at the New Jersey College of Medicine and Dentistry. The third was Mr. Arthur Clarke who was recognized as an inventor. He was the inventor of a communication satellite. All heads of their perspective fields to show the shining achievement that was the building of Boyd Science Center.