Restrictions to Access

This collection contains additional materials that are not processed and are currently not available to researchers. For information about access to these materials, contact Research and Instructional Services staff. Please be advised that preparing unprocessed materials for access can be a lengthy process.

Restrictions to Use

No usage restrictions.

Copyright Notice

Copyright is retained by the authors of items in these papers, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law.

Preferred Citation

[Identification of item], in the Bernard Henry Boyd Papers, #4029, Southern Historical Collection, The Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Additional Descriptive Resources

A copy of the original finding aid for this collection is filed in folder 1a.

Sensitive Materials Statement

Manuscript collections and archival records may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information that is protected under federal or state right to privacy laws and regulations, the North Carolina Public Records Act (N.C.G.S. § 132 1 et seq.), and Article 7 of the North Carolina State Personnel Act (Privacy of State Employee Personnel Records, N.C.G.S. § 126-22 et seq.). Researchers are advised that the disclosure of certain information pertaining to identifiable living individuals represented in this collection without the consent of those individuals may have legal ramifications (e.g., a cause of action under common law for invasion of privacy may arise if facts concerning an individual's private life are published that would be deemed highly offensive to a reasonable person) for which the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill assumes no responsibility.

Processed by: SHC Staff

Encoded by: Noah Huffman, December 2007

Updated by: Kate Stratton and Jodi Berkowitz, November 2009

This collection was rehoused and a summary created with support from the National Endowment for the Humanities.

This finding aid was created with support from NC ECHO.

The following terms from Library of Congress Subject Headings suggest topics, persons, geography, etc. interspersed through the entire collection; the terms do not usually represent discrete and easily identifiable portions of the collection--such as folders or items.

Clicking on a subject heading below will take you into the University Library's online catalog.

• Archaeological expeditions--Israel--History--20th century.
• Archaeology--Study and teaching--North Carolina--History--20th century.
• Boyd, Bernard Henry, 1910-1975.
• College students--North Carolina--History--20th century.
• College teachers--North Carolina--History--20th century.
• Israel--Antiquities.
• Presbyterian Church--North Carolina--History--20th century.
• Presbyterian Church--South Carolina--History--20th century.
• Prickett, Karl.
• Prickett, Lynn.
• Religion--Study and teaching--North Carolina--History--20th century.
• Sermons, American--Southern States.
• University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill--Faculty--History--20th century.
• University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill--Students--History--20th century.
• University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Dept. of Religion.

Bernard Henry Boyd (1910-1975), professor of religion at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 1950-1975, was recognized as an inspiring teacher and interdenominational leader. He was particularly interested in Biblical archaeology and led summer archeological expeditions in Israel. Boyd was educated at Presbyterian College, Clinton, S.C.; Princeton Theological Seminary; Princeton University; and Union Theological Seminary, Richmond, Va. He was ordained as a Presbyterian minister in 1943. During World War II, he served as a chaplain with the United States Naval Reserves in the Pacific arena, 1943-1945, and was awarded a Purple Heart for his actions at Okinawa, Japan.

Boyd held positions as professor of Bible at Presbyterian College, Laurinberg, N.C., 1936-1946; professor of Bible at Davidson College, Davidson, N.C., 1946-1950; James A. Gray Professor of Biblical Literature at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 1950-1975; and chairman of the Department of Religion at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 1952-1960. Also noteworthy are Boyd's extensive speaking engagements, his participation in educational television on biblical matters, and his lecture tours for the Archaeological Institute of America.

His lecturing with the Archaeological Institute of America was indicative of his interest in archaeology, particularly related to biblical study. He participated in archaeological exploration in Israel during the summers of 1963-1968 and 1970-1974; organized the Archaeological Expedition to Tell ed-Duweir (Lachish) in 1966; co-directed the University of North Carolina-Hebrew University Archaeological Expedition to Tell Arad, Israel in 1967; directed the Lynn Prickett Archaeological Expedition to Tell ed-Duweir (Lachish) in 1968; and organized expeditions to Beer Sheba, Israel, 1970-1974. Boyd served as educational director for the Institute from Mediterranean Studies from 1965-1967 and as Archaeological Director for the same organization beginning in 1968.

Boyd was recognized for his outstanding interdenominational teaching and inspirational leadership. He was twice the recipient of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's Tanner Award for Distinction in College Teaching and the recipient of the Nicholas Salgo Award for Distinguished Teaching in 1973.

Boyd's membership in learned societies included the Society of Biblical LIterature, the American Schools of Oriental Research, the American Academy of Religion, and the Archaeological Institute of America. His fraternities included Sigma Upsilon, Pi Kappa Delta, Gamma Sigma, Blue Key, Omicron Delta Kappa, and Golden Fleece.

Bernard H. Boyd married Thelma Hicklin of Richburg, S.C., in 1954. They had two children: Donald Beaty and Karen Elizabeth.

The collection includes papers relating to lectures delivered by Bernard Henry Boyd at colleges and churches throughout the South; correspondence with students and former students from the University of North Carolina; instructional notes; material about archaeological expeditions in which Boyd participated; lectures on archaeology delivered by Boyd; correspondence with archaeologists; and miscellaneous correspondence, including correspondence with friends Karl and Lynn Prickett of Greensboro, N.C., and correspondence relating to Boyd's employment by the University of North Carolina, his work with the Department of Religion, and his work with the Presbyterian Church in North and South Carolina. Also included are audio discs of sermons delivered by Boyd.