SUNY Canton Applied Psychology Faculty Member Receives Prestigious Award

The SUNY Canton College Council has chosen an admired educator to receive the 2020 Distinguished Faculty Award.

Lecturer Edward G. Boyd was presented with the honor by Council Chair Ronald M. O’Neill ’63 during the Daniel G. Fay Honors Convocation virtual ceremony April 22. The event celebrated students with the top GPA for their class year in their major.

“Ed has taught countless psychology courses during his 20-year tenure at SUNY Canton, while consistently maintaining high standards in the classroom,” O’Neill said in a video address. “Colleagues noted his ability to encourage curiosity and promote intellectual growth in a way that evokes excellence.”

One of Boyd’s most significant contributions, O’Neill continued, is “his leadership role in creating the college’s Applied Psychology program, which has cleared a path for students to pursue their aspirations of working in the human services field, while filling the community’s need for a highly knowledgeable work force.”

In addition to his teaching excellence, Boyd was selected because students regard him as a trusted mentor, role model and counselor.

“Once Professor Boyd learns your name, his goal is then to know you,” wrote Applied Psychology student Stacie G. Hale, class of 2020, in her letter of support to the council. “He works to learn about who you are as a person, what career might suit you, and even how your child’s musical recital went. He cares deeply for every single student who walks through his door.”

Boyd’s faculty colleagues agreed, noting his ability to connect with students and make them feel heard.

“He listens attentively and is genuinely interested in their intellectual growth,” wrote SUNY Canton Professor Patrick K. LaPierre in his nomination letter to the council. “Ed spends time with each student, listening and conversing about their immediate academic ambitions, as well as their wider interests.”

Prior to his career at SUNY Canton, Boyd was a probation officer, support counselor and family services supervisor for the St. Lawrence County Probation Office. He also worked in private practice for a number of years as a mental health professional.

His community involvement includes serving on St. Lawrence County’s Council of Social Agencies, the Child Advisory Council and the Manpower Advisory Council. He is also an expert on North Country history, and regularly gives presentations about genealogy, folklore and famous residents.

During his 46-year education career, he has also taught at St. Lawrence University, Empire State College, and Mater Dei College.

In his acceptance address, Boyd noted that teaching has always been its own reward for him, and that if psychology is taught the right way, it has the power to change the world.

“If we teach it not just as the gateway to a discipline, but as a body of knowledge for non-professional public consumption, it can lead to people having more tolerance for others, more appreciation for the human condition, as well as increase self-knowledge and self-regulation,” he said.

Boyd holds a Bachelor of Science and a Master of Education from St. Lawrence University and completed post-Masters work at SUNY Potsdam and SUNY Oswego.