Y.'s 'rudder is set,' leader says

PROVO — Sharon Samuelson didn't initially believe her husband when he told her last spring that LDS Church President Gordon B. Hinckley had assigned him to become the 12th president of Brigham Young University.

"At first, Sharon thought I was spoofing her, as I sometimes do," Cecil O. Samuelson said Tuesday during BYU's annual University Conference. "However, she soon realized I was serious."

In his speech, the first chance for the new president to share a vision with the entire faculty and staff, Samuelson addressed some serious questions directed at him over the past four months. The topics included concern about nepotism — his sister is a BYU vice president — BYU's enrollment cap and what changes he might make at the university.

Samuelson sent strong signals that he considers BYU's rudder set and its course clear, and that faculty and staff shouldn't expect imminent change from his administration.

"BYU already has a very clear mission," Samuelson told the Deseret Morning News. "Anybody expecting to hear anything dramatic or life-altering in terms of a change of direction will be disappointed."

During his speech, he said, "It is fair to say that I currently have no major or immediate changes planned. We have wonderful vice presidents, deans, chairs and other leaders. Our staff people are generally superb. Their desires and needs, as well as the institution's, will be evaluated regularly."

To underline the point, he twice quoted a specific line from BYU's mission statement, that the school is to "assist individuals in their quest for perfection and eternal life." He also stressed other long-established directional documents such as Aims of a BYU Education and BYU Institutional Objectives, which along with the mission statement are available on www.byu.edu.

"One of my main responsibilities is to be sure we are rooted in, and proceed according to, that which is established and secure," he said. "This is who we are, why we are, and what we are."

That doesn't mean there won't be new programs or buildings or a change in the enrollment cap in the future, he said, but until then, the university community should seek other ways to improve.

"For example, I feel strongly that we have an obligation and an opportunity to raise the bar on what we expect of our students," he said. "This includes their understanding and personal endorsement of their honor code commitments. When so many want to come to BYU, we want to be sure that those who are here recognize and maximize their opportunities."