Former ACUI President Jay Boyar Passes Away
ACUI Past President Jay Boyar passed away June 2, 2025.
Boyar served as ACUI president from 1993–94; in fact, he served as both president and acting executive director. Prior, he was vice president of committee and network affairs. Boyar also chaired and hosted regional conferences and Association seminars.
Spending his career at Prince George’s Community College, Boyar was an advocate for the role of community colleges in the Association. He served as the chair of the Two-Year College Committee, held a regional role related to two-year colleges, and created the Two-Year Colleges Recognition Awards Program. He was also the first recipient of the Two-Year College Professional Award in 1995.
In total, Boyar gave more than 30 years of service to the Association. This dedication was recognized with the Butts-Whiting Award in 2000.
When presenting this award to Boyar, Past President Debra Hammond said that he made you feel “valued as an individual and as a learner and validated as a professional and a student. You feel like you matter to this Association.” Others echoed Hammond’s words, noting Boyar’s role as a mentor.
His concluding thought in his September 1993 Presidential Perspective in The Bulletin was in response to significant changes within the Association—including hiring a new executive director and becoming incorporated—and the ability of ACUI to persevere. The words still ring true today as college campuses, and the Association, move toward an ever-changing future.
“With its members’ unwavering desire to be part of a professional ‘family,’ the volunteer leaders’ commitment, unselfishness, and expertise, and the Central Office staffs competence, loyalty, and dedication,” Boyar wrote, “ACUI will build on its past, manage its present, and secure its future.”
