LeGrand/Boyd scholarship endowment announced at Southeast

A friendship forged between two Southeast Missouri State University fraternity brothers in the 1990s has resulted in a new scholarship at the university announced Thursday by the university’s foundation.

The Jason J. LeGrand and Neal E. Boyd Endowment celebrates the friendship of the two Southeast graduates and supports character and leadership development of students who are members of their fraternity, Lambda Chi Alpha.

Boyd, who graduated from Southeast in 2001, was a well-known performer, recording artist and winner of season three of NBC’s “America’s Got Talent” competition in 2008. He died in June 2018 of complications related to heart/kidney failure and liver disease.

LeGrand, a 1997 Southeast graduate, is senior director of principal gifts and strategic initiatives at the University of California, Berkeley.

LeGrand and Boyd met in 1994 when Boyd became LeGrand’s “little brother” in the Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity.

At Southeast, LeGrand and Boyd shared similar university roles and honors. In their fraternity, both served as officers and were recognized as Alumnus of the Year, LeGrand in 2000 and Boyd in 2003. Boyd was inducted into the fraternity’s Hall of Fame in 2009 followed by LeGrand three years later.

Both men served as Southeast presidential ambassadors, as members of the Interfraternity Council and both were involved in Southeast’s Student Government Association. LeGrand moved to Jefferson City, Missouri, to serve a semester as an intern in the Missouri House of Representatives and Boyd did the same in 1998. They were both Homecoming Court Man of the Year candidates, LeGrand in 1996 and Boyd in 1998.

Boyd received a Distinguished Service Award from the university in 2008, and in 2010, LeGrand was recognized as a Young Alumni Merit Award recipient.

Boyd grew up in Sikeston, Missouri, the son of Esther Boyd, and graduated from Sikeston High School in 1994. He earned degrees from Southeast and the University of Missouri before continuing his studies at the New England Conservatory of Music. His career included teaching, public speaking, business and music.

LeGrand is a native of Cape Girardeau and son of Evelyn Harbison LeGrand and Larry LeGrand. A 1992 graduate of Cape Girardeau Central High School, he earned a degree in mass communications at Southeast and then became the second of seven Lambda Chi Alpha members from Southeast to serve on the staff of the fraternity’s international headquarters in Indianapolis. Before joining the University of California, Berkeley, LeGrand worked in fundraising and development capacities at Cornell University, the University of Denver, the University of Nevada at Las Vegas, the University of Maryland College Park and the University of California’s School of Veterinary Medicine. He is a member of the President’s Council at Southeast and the university’s Horizon Club.

This is the second endowment at Southeast bearing Boyd’s name. The Neal E. Boyd Endowed Scholarship in the Performing Arts was established before his death and supports students majoring in music, theater, dance and performing arts education.