David H. Boyne: National FFA President 1953–54
Michigan · No. 27 of 100 · National FFA President 1953–54
At a Glance
- Office: National FFA President, 1953–54 (No. 27 of 100)
- Home state: Michigan, from Marlette
- Earlier office: Michigan State FFA President, 1952–53
- Later work: Agricultural economist; professor at Michigan State and Ohio State; Ohio State associate provost; director of the Ohio LEAD program
David H. Boyne was 19 when he led the national officer team in 1953–54. A 1953 Lansing State Journal report describes him as a freshman at Michigan State College studying dairying, and he went on to a long career in agricultural economics and university administration.
The 25th Anniversary Year
Boyne’s year coincided with FFA’s 25th anniversary. FFA’s own timeline records that President Dwight D. Eisenhower became the first sitting president to speak at a National FFA Convention that year, that a commemorative stamp was issued and that membership stood at 363,369.
Local coverage shows what a national president’s year looked like. The Lansing State Journal reported that the Lansing Exchange Club honored him in 1953. The Alabama FFA Association’s April–May 1954 newsletter reports that he headed a group of national officers that landed at Birmingham Municipal Airport on February 12, 1954. The newsletter describes the trip as an annual goodwill tour that began February 3, and says it was the first year the officers had come South. It adds that the group’s emphasis was on improving relations between industry and agriculture, and that its first stop in Birmingham was the Tennessee Coal and Iron Division of U.S. Steel. Boyne was joined by fellow national officers Charles W. Ritter Jr., Walker Earl James, Hunt Zumwalt, John Schultheis and Harlan Rigney. The Birmingham News column reprinted in the same issue called them leaders among the 363,369 members of the organization.
Education and Academic Career
According to Ohio State University’s Department of Agricultural, Environmental and Development Economics, Boyne was raised on a farm in Michigan and earned a bachelor’s degree in dairy science from Michigan State University in 1957 and a Ph.D. in economics from the University of Chicago in 1962. The department’s profile lists these positions:
- Assistant professor of agricultural economics, Michigan State University, 1960–1967.
- Professor, Ohio State University, 1967–1983, including a period as chair of the department.
- Associate provost, Ohio State University, 1983–1992.
- Director of the Ohio LEAD Program, 1993–1997.
Why His Story Matters
Boyne represents the path from the national FFA presidency into academic leadership: a doctorate in economics, years of teaching and research, and a decade in university administration. His record shows that a farm and FFA background led some presidents into research and leadership development rather than farming itself.
What the Record Does Not Show
This site did not find his FFA chapter, his advisor or interviews in which he discussed the FFA year. Details of his family and later life are not included.
Next: William D. Gunter Jr., 1954–55 →
Sources
- Ohio State University AEDE: David Boyne (original link no longer resolves; checked Nov. 2026)
- Alabama Future Farmer, April–May 1954
- Lansing State Journal, Lansing, Michigan, 1953 (Newspapers.com)
- National FFA Organization: FFA history timeline