Dr. Christopher Boyd ’97 will deliver the 2017 Commencement address on May 20. The ceremony is scheduled to take place at 10 a.m. on the Dell in front of Hopwood Hall.
Dr. Boyd is a University of Lynchburg graduate, a member of the Board of Trustees, and a pastoral leader who achieves worldwide impact through strategic leadership and service.
A communication studies major, Dr. Boyd was a Montgomery Scholar at University of Lynchburg. This allowed him to work closely with the college chaplain and develop interpersonal and communication skills that he would later apply in his occupation as a pastor. Dr. Boyd served as president of the Student Government Association during his senior year, and in 1997 he received the Commonwealth of Virginia Governor’s Youth Service Award, the National Multi-Cultural Leader Award, and the SGA earned the National Association of Campus Activities Excellence In Student Government Award, the first in University of Lynchburg history.
After graduating from University of Lynchburg, a connection with a member of the Board of Trustees opened the door to a corporate career, and he became a national training and development manager and eventually a business development executive, the youngest in company history, for Vertis Communications, a printing and advertising company. In 2007, Dr. Boyd became executive pastor of Word of Faith Family Worship Cathedral, a church in Austell, Georgia, with more than 21,000 members in the greater Atlanta region and a global audience through its television ministry.
In 2006, Dr. Boyd received the M. Carey Brewer Alumni Award, which honors young alumni who have made an outstanding contribution to society. He joined the University of Lynchburg Board of Trustees in 2017. This opportunity is one point of pride in his career. “I’ve been blessed with many opportunities in my lifetime, but the privilege of serving University of Lynchburg in this way is one that I cherish,” he said.
Dr. Boyd earned his Master of Business Administration degree from Shorter University in 2005 and his Doctorate of Philosophy in organizational leadership from Regent University in 2014. He teaches a master’s degree course on authentic leadership at Richmont Graduate University.
Dr. Boyd and his wife, fellow University of Lynchburg graduate Jennifer Mul-key Boyd ’95, have three children: Jordan, Christina, and Christopher.
