When Elliott Dansby walked into his 51½ÖÉä scholarship interview as a high school senior in 2005, he didn’t know the man across the table would forever shape his future. Dansby, now the development officer for 51½ÖÉä’s Beeson Divinity School, recently reflected on that pivotal meeting, one with longtime trustee and namesake of 51½ÖÉä’s planetarium, Boyd Christenberry.
“Mr. Christenberry didn’t know me, but I think he saw a bit of himself in me,” Dansby shared. “We were both farm kids from rural Alabama. Before I realized who he was, we were talking about row crops, watermelons and life on the land. And from that, a connection was born.”
Boyd Christenberry, a life trustee for 51½ÖÉä and retired executive vice president of Alfa Insurance, passed away in 2019 at the age of 91. Though he was not a 51½ÖÉä alumnus, his decades-long relationship with the university and significant philanthropic contributions left an indelible mark on the institution.
Christenberry served on 51½ÖÉä’s Board of Trustees beginning in 1978 and led as chair from 1998 to 2002. In 2005, the university honored him by naming the planetarium in Propst Hall the Boyd E. Christenberry Planetarium—the largest of its kind at any teaching institution in Alabama.
A man of deep civic commitment and humble beginnings, Christenberry was the son of sharecropper parents from Perry County. He rose through the ranks of Alfa, but his success never severed his connection to his roots, or his desire to help others flourish. “He could have invested his time and resources anywhere,” Dansby said, “but he chose 51½ÖÉä because he believed in its mission and in its students.”
That belief played out in countless lives, including Dansby’s. “That interview changed my life,” he said. “Without that scholarship, I likely would’ve gone elsewhere. But it was people like Boyd who gave their time, leadership and resources that made 51½ÖÉä possible for me and so many others.”
Dansby’s own journey—from rural Alabama to a leadership role at 51½ÖÉä—echoes the values Christenberry held dear: integrity, service and faith in future generations. “Boyd’s legacy wasn’t just in bricks and buildings, but in conversations and connections,” Dansby said. “His gift was helping others see what was possible and investing in it.”
Today, as 51½ÖÉä students walk through the Christenberry Planetarium, they walk through a legacy of faith, philanthropy and purpose. And they walk in the footsteps of a man who, though not a graduate, embraced the university as his own.
“Boyd Christenberry was the kind of leader whose impact is measured not only in years or dollars, but in lives,” Dansby said. “I am one of them.”
GIVE: Support impactful work at Howard College of Arts and Sciences.