James Emory Boyd was born on July 18, 1906, in Tignall, Georgia, to Emory Fortson and Rosa Lee Wright Boyd. He graduated from the University of Georgia in 1927 with a Bachelor of Arts in Mathematics, and the next year he received a masters' degree from Duke University. After two years as a physics instructor at the University of Georgia, Boyd was accepted into Yale University's physics program. In 1933, he completed his dissertation, entitled Scattering of X-Rays by Cold-Worked and by Annealed Beryllium, and graduated with a Ph.D. in physics.

From 1933 to 1935, Boyd taught at West Georgia College and was appointed head of the Mathematics and Science Department. During his brief time in Carrollton, he married Elizabeth Reynolds Cobb (January 23, 1913 - January 10, 2000) on June 2, 1934. They had two children, Betty Cobb Boyd (b. August 26, 1939) and James Fortson Boyd (b. October 9, 1942). In 1935, Boyd accepted a teaching position at the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, and he remained there until he joined the U. S. Naval Reserve in 1942. He earned the ranks of lieutenant and lieutenant commander for his service in the Radar Section of the Research and Development Division of the Bureau of Ordnance. He returned to Georgia Tech in 1946 and remained there until he was appointed president of West Georgia College in 1961. At Georgia Tech, Boyd was instrumental in the development of the school's nuclear program during the 1950s. He served as assistant, associate, and full director of the Engineering Experiment Station, as well as serving on assorted nuclear commissions and committees.

In 1961, Boyd was appointed President of West Georgia College, and his nine-year term was one of unprecedented growth for the school. From 1961 to 1970, fall enrollment increased from 1,100 to 5,500 students, and the number of possible programs of study grew as well. At the beginning of the decade, students could earn two degrees in five programs; by 1970, the college offered seven degrees in forty-five programs. The rapid growth necessitated a building boom, as well, with nine residence halls and the Academic Center (a four-building complex including the Library, Mathematics-Physics building, Social Sciences building, and Classroom Arts building) opened. As president, Boyd successfully led the college through several controversial issues faced by universities of the 1960s, including integration and Vietnam War protests.

In 1970, Boyd was named the University System of Georgia's first vice chancellor for academic development. He held the post for only a few months before he was appointed interim president of Georgia Tech for the 1971-1972 school year. Boyd then retired to Carrollton, Georgia and died there on February 18, 1998. At the University of West Georgia, Boyd is remembered through an academic scholarship, the James Emory Boyd Award (given annually to the top geology student), and with the James E. Boyd Building that houses the mathematics and physics programs.