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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 13 Collections and/or Records:

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

Samuel Frederick Curtis papers

 Collection — Multiple Containers
Identifier: MSS 9035
Scope and Contents Materials include journals, letters, notebooks, photographs, negatives, and audiocassettes of Samuel Frederick "Fred" Curtis and his wife Emmeline Curtis. Topics of materials include Fred's mission in Germany and the mission Samuel and Emmeline later served in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, both for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, their family of six children, and Fred's work at and donations to Brigham Young University. Some photographs depict military camps and activities aboard...
Dates: approximately 1930-2017

Gary P. Gillum correspondence, 1973-2015

 Series — Multiple Containers
Identifier: MSS 2163 Series 5
Scope and Contents

Contains memorandums, notes, and letters from Brigham Young University (BYU) faculty, as well as non-BYU correspondence with family, professional colleagues, editors, and Church authorities. The series dates from 1973 to 2015.

Dates: 1973-2015

Edwin Kimball interview with Rod Kimball

 File — Multiple Containers
Identifier: MSS 2965
Scope and Contents

Typescript of an interview taken from the included reel-to-reel sound tape. Rod Kimball was interviewed by Edwin Kimball, his older brother. Rod talks about his early life, mentions his mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-days Saints to Germany in the early 1930s, and discusses his experiences as a student at Brigham Young University in 1933.

Dates: 1979

Vernon W. Larsen photographs

 Collection — Multiple Containers
Identifier: MSS 7591
Scope and Contents

Contains photographs taken by Vernon W. Larsen while he served as a missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Hawaii from 1940 to 1941. The photographs are in a variety of sizes and are mostly of the people in the area, but some are of the other missionaries serving. Also included are photographs taken of the Brigham Young University campus in the early 1940s and pictures of Japan during the United States occupation after World War II.

Dates: approximately 1940s

George Finlay Macdonald photograph

 Collection — Folder 1: [Barcode: 31197239266247]
Identifier: MSS 9365
Scope and Contents

Contains a postcard photograph with the note, "Representatives of the B.Y.U. laboring in the British Mission at Elders Convention in London Sept. (9 -11)- 13 held at Deseret." George Finlay Macdonald (who is pictured second from the right, back row) served in the London Conference from 1913 to 1915. Materials dated approximately 1913.

Dates: approximately 1913

Gordon B. Moody films

 Collection — Multiple Containers
Identifier: MSS 7576
Scope and Contents

Contains three 16 mm films. Two of the films are about a cultural study program to Mexico in 1951, and the other is about Argentina missionaries immediately following World War II. There is also a DVD of the history of Millard County covering the period from 1940-1990.

Dates: 1949-2005

My turn on earth : reflections at sixty-five

 File — Folder 1: [Barcode: 31197230329085]
Identifier: MSS SC 2972
Scope and Contents Contains information about his early life, education, LDS Church callings and service, employment, family, health, retirement, and favorite quotes. Recounts his early life in Eden, Arizona, 1927-1936; and Thatcher, Arizona, 1949-1952. Also comments on his activities at the University of California Berkeley, 1956-1964; missionary service, 1947-1949; service as a mission president, 1965-1968; work on Brigham Young University faculty, 1962-1992; and residence in Provo, Utah, beginning in...
Dates: 1992; 1992

Oral history interview with Marjorie M. Emery

 Collection — Multiple Containers
Identifier: UA OH 169
Scope and Contents

Transcripts of oral history conducted as part of the Brigham Young University Archives Joint Oral History Project of the Brigham Young University Alumni Association Emeritus Club. Emery tells about attending Brigham Young University, her marriages to Wayne L. Reeve and Wesley F. Emery, her Relief Society callings, her missions to Ireland and to the Liberty Jail Visitors Center, and about living in Kansas and Salt Lake City, Utah.

Dates: 1992

Oral history interview with Max Hoover Russell

 Collection — Multiple Containers
Identifier: MSS 2998
Scope and Contents

Typescript of an interview taken from the included audiocassette. Russell was interviewed by David Whittaker on February 9, 1988 for the Joint Oral History Program of the Brigham Young University Archives and the BYU Alumni Association Emeritus Club. Russell talks about his mission in California, the Book of Mormon and archaeology, and early visual aids used by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Dates: 1988