Gold (1960), silver (1964), and bronze (1968) Olympic track medal winner Ralph Boston was employed by the university in September 1968 as a special assistant in the Division of Student Affairs, with assigned collateral responsibility as associate director of Athletics’ Summer Camps. Two years later, he became assistant dean of students, and in 1972 he became coordinator of minority student affairs and special student services. Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Howard Aldmon announced in summer 1975 that the Special Student Services Office would be closed but delayed the decision after receiving student resolutions. Boston was offered the position of assistant director of financial aid in August 1975, but he declined and resigned effective December 31, 1975.
Over the seven years Boston worked at UT, he initiated the observance of Black History Week in February, initiated a Black Arts Festival held annually in May, served as advisor for the new Black Students Union (later renamed the Afro-American Student Liberation Force), co-organized the Black Faculty and Staff Association, advocated for formation of black fraternities and sororities on campus, and assisted in recruiting athletes. He helped, on a volunteer basis, to coach track and helped coordinate various youth track clinics and events. In a 1971 Daily Beacon interview, he recalled feeling the weight of prejudice at the first UT football game he attended (UCLA) when he entered the stadium while the band was playing “Dixie” and the crowd was cheering and waving Confederate flags.
Boston has been inducted into both the USA Track and Field Hall of Fame and the US Olympic Hall of Fame. The Tennessee State University Archives maintains a collection covering Boston’s years as a student there—he earned the bachelor’s degree in biochemistry in 1962—and his Olympic career.