Brigham Young University–Hawaii's President's Council kicked off the 2009-10 school year with an ohana meeting for faculty and staff in the McKay Auditorium. The meeting started with an introduction of new faculty and staff who have recently joined the BYU–Hawaii ohana.
"This is a very special time at the beginning of the fall semester when we can meet and reflect on the past year as well as look at the year ahead," said BYU–Hawaii President Steven C. Wheelwright, who before proceeding with his remarks shared a video clip with the faculty and staff about the impact of BYU–Hawaii in Pacific and Asia that will be shown on television between General Conference sessions in October.
'A great year of progress'
"We indeed have a remarkable foundation on which to build, and each time I think of all that has gone before, I'm grateful for the blessing it is to be here in this special place at this university. This past year has been a great year of progress," President Wheelwright said. "We're grateful to all of you for the work you've done in helping to make the new academic calendar a reality. We're also grateful for our four-college structure that is now firmly in place ... and for those who are serving as Deans and department heads." President Wheelwright continued, "I think things are moving forward nicely. I think the students are pleased, and that we are aligning things the way that we ought to so we can better prepare the students."
"We have transformed IWES into the I-WORK program, and we've also initiated a returned missionary half-tuition program for up-to-six missionaries from each of the 53 missions in the Pacific area," he continued. If the participating returned missionaries maintain a 3.5-or-better grade point average, "they can continue that program throughout their studies. We want to attract the best returned missionaries, who know the cultures of the Pacific, who've learned to love the people, and the mission presidents are very excited about this."
"Our new online curriculum is attracting new students and expanding, very much as planned," he continued, noting the President's Council "appreciates the way this is evolving."
"As requested by the First Presidency, we've combined our planning efforts with the Polynesian Cultural Center and Hawaii Reserves, Inc. [HRI], the Temple and the community in the Envision Laie process ... I do believe it's natural and appropriate, as does our Board that the university be central to this process and take the lead publicly ... We've been greatly blessed to have the active involvement of the Laie Community Association and the surrounding communities." Mentioning opposition and the importance of the "voice of the people, President Wheelwright also said, "I'm convinced that if we're unified, and if we follow the principles of the gospel, that the Lord will bless us in the ways that we need it in order for the campus to become what it needs to become. That includes the renewal of facilities, additional dorm and academic space and so on."
President Wheelwright said that President's Council and Admissions are working with "each of the four [Latter-day Saint] Area Presidencies that we serve in the Pacific." He continued, "We also work with the 53 mission presidents in the Pacific, and the local Hawaii stake presidents. They are our partners. They know the young men and women better than we do before they come. They are vitally concerned about these young men and women, and their future, and they're great supporters. We've sought to enlist their help in the actual planning of how we attract, prepare and serve these young people so that we get the right ones, so that they can be successful, and so that they're able to return and help build the Kingdom."
He added that "great progress" has already been made in the South Pacific, the Philippines, the Asia Area headquartered in Hong Kong and the North Asia Area headquartered in Japan. For example, by the end of September all four Area Presidents will have visited BYU–Hawaii. "We are very grateful for all these Area Presidents are doing," President Wheelwright said. He added that about 500 Hawaii students in five local stakes have also recently attended recruiting firesides, and noted that process will continue.
"We're grateful for the wonderful support that we feel from each of you in trying to attract these young people. Your efforts make a real difference: Your perspectives on the university, what you say about us, and the enthusiasm you have for what you're doing — those are things that are impressed upon the minds of people who visit and make them want to return, and have their children return for an education."
"I should also mention that we've been working with the two mission presidents in India," he continued. "We will have 10 returned missionaries from there coming this fall to complete their studies. They've already had some university in India, and now they will come here, basically with the equivalent of an associate's degree." He pointed out that when finished, such Indian graduates "can double their salaries and move into the ranks of management, which allows them the time to serve in Church leadership. We think this is a program that will greatly bless the lives of these young people, and will also build the Kingdom in India. Similar things will happen in other areas."
Looking ahead
President Wheelwright explained that the Board of Trustees give "wonderful advice and are very supportive. They always ask how you are all doing, and they always send their love. They want you to know they appreciate what you're doing, and the difference that it's making. They know how important it is to these young men and young women to be educated in a religious environment."
"Our challenge is to prepare these students not for the world that we know, grew up in and realize is changing, but for the world in which they raise their families and build the Kingdom."
President Wheelwright also said that each time he meets with the Board of Trustees he's reminded of "their expectations and what it is that we'll do in the coming months and years. He cited a statement by the late Elder Neal A. Maxwell about the future of BYU–Hawaii as one of his favorites: The best lies ahead! There will be even wider radiating effects which pulsate outward from this place as the Lord makes His facilitating moves on the checker board of the nations...indeed tens of thousands in the world who will never set foot on this campus will be blessed and served by the thousands who have been blessed to be here.
To help the faculty and staff "more clearly focus on what lies ahead and what the Lord would have us do to help accomplish His plan" of both spiritual and secular education at BYU–Hawaii, the President's Council then passed out a commemorative coin about 1.75 inches in diameter to everyone in the meeting:
- • One side features the logo of the university surrounded by the motto,
Enter to learn, go forth to serve
- , "to serve as a reminder of the wonderful foundation and heritage that we have here, and to the sacrifices so many have made to give us this great university that we can now build on," he said. "Our hope is that all who come to this campus — whether they're employed, a student, or whatever their role — that this is will be an environment where they, too, can learn."
- •The obverse depicts the Laie Hawaii Temple as a spiritual symbol, surrounded by a representation of the motto of the Hawaii Honolulu Mission: Atonement, love, obedience, (and the sharing of
ha
- or the breath of eternal life) — the first letters of which spell out the familiar Hawaiian word
aloha
- . President Wheelwright used a portion of the Hawaii mission president's recent devotional on campus which expressed the thought that "each time you see or hear the word aloha...we'll be reminded of these principles of the gospel and its promised blessings of eternal life." "
The coin, created with the help of alumni and friends, will also be distributed to current students.
President Wheelwright pointed out when President David O. McKay broke ground for the university in 1955, he charged that it have two purposes: "First, to learn of God and His Kingdom; and second, to help develop character, and make noble men and women. We've been fulfilling this mission for 54 years, and we look forward to the future with courage and optimism as we continue to do our part in this great work."
"This is the charge that our Board has given each of us, and is looking to us to fulfill as we bless the lives of these young men and young women," he said. "We hope that the vision that the Lord has will become our vision of what can occur, and will occur, on this campus."
--Photos by Mike Foley