Skip to main content

Brigham Young University

 Organization

Dates

  • Existence: 1903-

Administrative History

Brigham Young University (1903- ) is a university sponsored by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Provo, Utah.

Brigham Young University was established in 1903 in a renaming of Brigham Young Academy. Past and present Brigham Young University presidents include George H. Brimhall (1903-1921), Franklin S. Harris (1921-1945), Howard S. McDonald (1945-1949), (acting president) Christian Jensen (1949-1951), Ernest L. Wilkinson (1951-1971), Dallin H. Oaks (1971-1980), Jeffrey R. Holland (1980-1989), Rex E. Lee (1989-1995), Merrill J. Bateman (1996-2003), Cecil O. Samuelson (2003-2014), Kevin J. Worthen (2014-2023), and C. Shane Reese (2023- ).

Brigham Young University is owned and operated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as part of the Church Educational System (CES). The university is governed by a Board of Trustees, which, since 1939, has consisted of the First Presidency of the Church as well as other General Authorities or general officers of the Church appointed by the First Presidency. The Board of Trustees provides general direction and oversees the formulation of broad policies as well as the approval of all executive leadership and faculty appointments at the university. The Board of Trustees delegates to the University President the responsibility to conduct the operations of the institution and administer the policies enacted by the board. The President serves as the chief executive officer and general manager of the University. Between 1996 and 2014, the President of the university was also been a General Authority of the Church.

Brigham Young University has grown from a small academy to one of the world's largest private universities. Sponsored by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, BYU offers a unique educational environment that promotes learning by study and also by faith.

Citation:
Its Annual catalog, 1907/08.

BYU--national champions, 1985: intro. (Brigham Young University)

The Journal of pedagogy, Feb. 1895: t.p. (Brigham Young Academy)

History of BYU (within Brigham Young University website), via WWW, 4 November 2010 (Brigham Young Academy established October 16, 1875 in Provo, Utah. Name changed to Brigham Young University in 1903. Sponsored by Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, associated with BYU-Hawaii in Laie, Hawaii; BYU-Idaho in Rexburg, Idaho; and LDS Business College in Salt Lake City, Utah)

Brigham Young University Organizational History website, via WWW, Mar. 2, 2011 (Brigham Young University; est. 1903; name change from Brigham Young Academy; Presidents: George H. Brimhall (1903-1921), Franklin S. Harris (1921-1945), Howard S. McDonald (1945-1949), (acting president) Christian Jensen (1949-1951), Ernest L. Wilkinson (1951-1971), Dallin H. Oaks (1971-1980), Jeffrey R. Holland (1980-1989), Rex E. Lee (1989-1995), Merrill J. Bateman (1996-2003), Cecil O. Samuelson (2003-2014), and Kevin J. Worthen (2014- ); owned by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints; governed by a board of trustees)

Brigham Young University website, via WWW, June 22, 2023 (C. Shane Reese; appointed president of Brigham Young University, May 1, 2023)

Found in 1546 Collections and/or Records:

LeGrand Meyer Bernards personal history

 File — Folder 1: [Barcode: 31197230328947]
Identifier: MSS SC 2987
Scope and Contents

Shares memories of his childhood in Salt Lake City, Utah; Latter-day Saint mission in Hawaii, 1941-1944; marriage; service in the U.S. Navy during World War II; and work at Brigham Young University Print Services, 1968-1983. The history was recorded by the author's daughter, Lani Bernards Braithwaite.

Dates: 1996-1997

John T. Bernhard papers

 Collection — Multiple Containers
Identifier: UA 881
Scope and Contents Includes correspondence and subject files concerning university administration, admissions and records, AFROTC, Alumni Association, assemblies, Auxiliary Services, biographical information, businesses and companies, Brigham Young University committees, church, civil defense, colleges, comptroller, contributions, faculty, federal aid to education, government, institutes, Placement Bureau, policies, public relations, publications, speeches, Student Personnel Services, and other...
Dates: 1948-1963

William E. Berrett papers

 Collection — Multiple Containers
Identifier: UA 889
Scope and Contents Contains minutes, correspondence, reports, course outlines, newsletters, speeches, pamphlets, lists, recommendations, and Division of Religion faculty applications collected by William Berrett in his role as the Vice President of Religion and CES administrator. Correspondence concerns the Student Military Relations Committee, faculty, LDS Institute assistant administrators Alma P. Burton, Boyd K. Packer, and Dale T. Tingey, and other Church Educational System matters. Materials dated 1938 to...
Dates: 1938-1968

Beta Delta Chapter publications

 File — Folder 1: [Barcode: 31197231013415]
Identifier: UA 432
Scope and Contents

Material includes a history of the chapter of the student fraternity, and alumni bulletins concerning news of members and activities of the chapter. Dated from 1928 to 1939.

Dates: 1928-1936

Bibliography of faculty publications, scholarly papers, addresses, and creative works

 Collection — Multiple Containers
Identifier: UA 1083
Scope and Contents

Bibliography of faculty publications, scholarly papers, addresses, and creative works.

Dates: 1971-1978

Biographical directory of named BYU facilities

 Item — Folder 1: [Barcode: 31197225512760]
Identifier: UA 1249
Scope and Contents

Contains brief biographical sketches of the people for whom the buildings on Brigham Young University campus have been named.

Dates: 2005

Biography and family record of Cecil Grant Ash

 Collection — Folder 1: [Barcode: 31197227650014]
Identifier: MSS SC 2930
Scope and Contents

Biography and family record of Cecil Grant Ash, 1990 where Ash recounts his experiences growing up in Lehi, Utah from the 1920s to the 1940s. He also discusses his POW experiences, including journal enteries and war poems written in the camps by U.S. soldiers

Dates: 1990

Biography of Glen E. Nielson

 File — Folder 1: [Barcode: 31197230336684]
Identifier: MSS 51
Abstract

The collection contains typewritten biographies of Glen E. Nielson that was read when he was given an honorary doctor's degree at Brigham Young University. Nielson organized the Huskie Oil Company and served in numerous community and Mormon Church positions.

Dates: 1957

Biography of J. Edward Johnson

 File — Multiple Containers
Identifier: MSS SC 2213
Scope and Contents

Typewritten biography of J. Edward Johnson with handwritten corrections. Johnson, a Mormon, was born in Murray, Utah, studied at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah, and worked for many years in California as a lawyer. He wrote a number of books on Mormon Church history and on constitutional law in the United States.

Dates: 1960

Biography of Jean Elizabeth Fossum May

 Collection — Multiple Containers
Identifier: MSS 2083
Scope and Contents Compiled by James A. May about his mother, Jean Fossum May, drawing heavily on her letters, journals, and notes. Gives detailed information about her life in Baker, Oregon, 1906-1959; service as a missionary in the California Mission of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1927-1928; marriage to Andrew May, 1930; family life (as a widow after 1933); service as head resident of Stover Hall (men's housing) on the campus of Brigham Young University, 1959-1969; and efforts to...
Dates: 1990-1998