Former BYU vice-president killed in accident

PROVO — R.J. Snow, a former vice-president at both Brigham Young University and University of Utah, died Tuesday night in a car accident near his Provo home.

Snow, 68, planned to retire at the end of the summer, after teaching his final term at BYU as a political science professor.

Since 2005, Snow had been a member of the board of trustees at Dixie State College, where he was a former student. He had served as director of BYU's Jerusalem Center for Near Eastern Studies and as a BYU vice president of Student Life and advancement.

Snow worked at the U. for a dozen years, including a decade spent as vice president for Student and University Relations and director of the Hinckley Institute of Politics.

"Three Utah institutions of higher learning are mourning a great leader today," BYU President Cecil Samuelson said. "R.J. changed the lives of generations of students, both in the classroom and through his thoughtful decisions as an administrator. ... He has been a personal friend and colleague for over 30 years with whom I was privileged to serve in both the church and the academy."

Snow was scheduled to speak in August at the convocation for graduates of BYU's College of Family, Home and Social Sciences

"R.J. was an extraordinary academic leader who helped build multiple universities," said David Magleby, dean of the College of Family, Home and Social Sciences and former chairman of BYU's political science department. "He was also a committed teacher, personally very warm and generous. All of us call him a model colleague."

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