Randy Boyd

in the best motel room he could find for under $18 dollars a night. At the age of 31 with his wife Jenny working as a court reporter and two-year-old son Thomas at home, he sunk his entire life savings of $26,000 into founding his own company; a bet that paid off. Three decades later his company, Radio Systems Corporation, is known worldwide by the brand names Invisible Fence, PetSafe and SportDOG. Today RSC is certified as a great place to work by Forbes
magazine, employing roughly 700 associates, including 400 in East Tennessee. In 2013 Randy answered the call of Governor Bill Haslam to serve as an unpaid advisor on higher education. The result of his year of service was the Drive to 55 and the Tennessee Promise; an initiative to increase the number of Tennesseans prepared for the jobs of tomorrow by making Tennessee the first state in the country to guarantee free community college and a volunteer mentor for all high school graduates – at no additional cost to taxpayers. Because of the Tennessee Promise student debt for young people in Tennessee has dropped by almost 25% and more first-generation students, like Randy, are enrolled in community colleges and technical schools and have the opportunity to learn the skills necessary to work at good paying jobs. From 2015 - 2017 he again answered the call to serve his state as the Commissioner of Economic and Community Development. As Commissioner he prioritized ensuring that prosperity reached all of
Tennessee’s 95 counties. He advocated for fair access to broadband Internet throughout the state and improving the alignment between education and workforce job attainment. Under his leadership, the state won several economic development awards and was ranked the first in the nation for adding new advanced manufacturing jobs and small business growth. Most importantly, Tennesseans had the second highest increase in household incomes in the country - meaning more money in the pockets of our hard-working families. Randy currently serves as the President of The University of Tennessee System. Boyd serves as the chief executive officer of the statewide university system. The flagship campus in Knoxville includes the Space Institute in Tullahoma and the statewide Institute of Agriculture. The UT System also includes campuses in Chattanooga, Pulaski, and Martin; the Health Science Center in Memphis; and the Institute of Public Service. The UT System also manages Oak Ridge National Laboratory through its UT-Battelle partnership, where Boyd serves as co-Chairman. Randy and his wife Jenny have been married for 38 years and have two grown sons, a daughter-in-law, a rescue dog, Oskar, and a golden doodle, Jolene.