Randy Boyd has served as UT’s 26th president since November of 2018, and serves as the chief executive officer of the statewide university system. The UT System includes campuses in Chattanooga, Pulaski and Martin; the Health Science Center in Memphis; and the Institute of Public Service. Additionally, it includes the flagship campus in Knoxville, which is also comprised of the Space Institute in Tullahoma and the statewide Institute of Agriculture. The UT System also manages Oak Ridge National Laboratory through its UT-Battelle partnership, where Boyd serves as co-chairman.
In 1991, Boyd founded Knoxville-based Radio Systems Corporation, a company that produces over 4,000 pet-related products under the brand names PetSafe, Invisible Fence, ScoopFree and SportDOG. The company employs more than 1,400 people with offices in six countries around the world.
Boyd also owns Boyd Sports, LLC, which owns five minor league baseball teams, including the Tennessee Smokies.
In 2007, Boyd began a journey transitioning from entrepreneur and businessman to full-time public servant. Boyd is a founder and chairman of tnAchieves, a nonprofit which has helped send more than 133,000 students to community college free of tuition and fees. This success led then-Governor Bill Haslam to invite him to serve as Special Advisor on Higher Education in 2013. During his tenure, he is credited with being the architect of the Drive to 55 and the Tennessee Promise. In 2015, Gov. Haslam recruited him back to serve as Commissioner of Economic and Community Development. During his tenure, his team recruited 52,000 new jobs and $9 billion in new investment for the state. He also founded and co-chaired the governor’s Rural Task Force and chaired the Governor’s Workforce Sub-Cabinet.