Deseret News | BYU-Hawaii chief looking ahead

Reader comments
BYU-Hawaii chief looking ahead

BYU-H employee | 11:02 a.m. Nov. 5, 2007

The reporter's got it wrong about the three semester year. It's under consideration, but nothing has been implemented.

BYU Hawaii employee | 12:02 p.m. Nov. 5, 2007

The three semester system has many hurdles to go before it could be implemented at BYU- Hawaii. The university is also considering distance learning, but to say it's going to emulate University of Phoenix would be a stretch of the imagination as well- or is it?

BYUH faculty member | 12:06 p.m. Nov. 5, 2007

BYUH currently teaches year round with two semesters and two summer terms. Each term is half a semester in length.

Comments continue below

BYU Hawai'i Faculty Member | 2:35 p.m. Nov. 5, 2007

Perhaps the reporter should retract this statement about the trimester system being implemented at BYU Hawai'i. It is certainly being considered but it has NOT been implemented yet.

Concerned Student | 9:51 p.m. Nov. 5, 2007

Do not turn us into BYU-Idaho.

Melanie Thompson, McL. S.D. | 8:35 a.m. Nov. 6, 2007

My daughter will be attending BYU-H in 2 years, I'm excited to hear about the mission of this University. I can't wait for her to experience college and what makes it better is just being able to attend The Brigham Young University. I believe with all my heart that my daughter will get the education and more than we could ever afford. Thank You. Donni's Mom.

Leialoha Aiko Lilly (Terukina) | 8:53 a.m. Nov. 6, 2007

As a 1999 BYUH Graduate and Native Hawaiian, I especially enjoyed Pres. Wheelwright's comments to provide education to students in Hawaii rather than providing a Hawaiian experience for students from the Mainland. It is important to educate these future leaders so they can find good jobs that will allow them to live in their homeland, become self-reliant and encourage their own children to strive for higher education in both temporal and spiritual things. BYUH is a wonderful place to receive such blessings.

The idea of a third semester so students can graduate in 3 instead of 4 years sounds amazing too. It will allow a quicker turnover of students allowing others opportunities for education.

Remember, change is good, especially when it comes from the Lord. Mahalo Pres. Wheelwright!

BYUH Alumni | 9:14 a.m. Nov. 6, 2007

I graduated from BYUH and loved my 2 years there! I remember it everyday. I'm a mainlander, but I had more than a "Hawaiian experience." I found a place that I call home. I attended both BYU-Provo and BYUH, and I felt loved and accepted at BYUH, whereas, in Provo, I only felt competition. I understand that progress needs to be made everywhere, but I hope that President Wheelwright doesn't change that feeling of love, unity, and acceptance into competition.

BYUH Graduate | 10:54 a.m. Nov. 6, 2007

The tone of this article is 100% inappropriate. Contrasting buisness students on the east coast with BYU-H students from the Pacific is nothing short of racist, and poor writing as well.

A 1984 BYUH Graduate | 10:56 a.m. Nov. 6, 2007

I graduated from both BYU-Idaho and BYU-Hawaii. BYU-Idaho had some great professors but it was way too cold for me. BYU-Hawaii has a beautiful campus, great teachers, smaller classes; and since PCC is right next door, plenty of jobs for everyone. The best thing about BYU Hawaii is how it can transform the lives of Hawaiian and South Pacific students who do not have enough funds for a college education. With BYUH's and PCC"s IWES scholarship program, Hawaiians/South Pacific islanders can have all of their college expenses paid while working at PCC. Working at PCC allows students to interact with millions of international visitors and can help improve their communication, foreign language and customer service skills. After graduation, many alumni from BYUH and PCC have found great careers and many of them have returned home to help improve the quality of life in their island countries.

BYU-Idaho Faculty Member | 3:21 p.m. Nov. 6, 2007

I hope all who have opportunity to experience Pres. Wheelwright's leadership at BYU-H will appreciate what a wonderful leader he is. My personal experiences with him during his short stay at BYU-I touched and changed me forever. There is no doubt his appointment was inspired. He was asked to serve there by the Lord's prophet.

Larisa Schumann, Alum & Faculty | 1:26 p.m. Nov. 7, 2007

Hart indicates because BYUH is in a warm climate it cannot have the intellectual rigor of a colder place, such as Harvard. Based on my own experiences in a cold place (BYU-Provo) I found that the warmth at BYUH goes beyond the weather. I transferred here as a sophomore from BYUP--and I stayed here and graduated because of the warmth of the faculty and students here. My BYUH professors knew my name; they nurtured my gifts and encouraged me to pursue a graduate degree. While I did return to BYUP for an MA, I was well prepared by the rigorous classes at BYUH; much better prepared than many BYUP graduates I matriculated with. A warm climate does not indicate lazy attitudes or deficient intellects. Some of the brightest and best students in the world come to BYUH. Anyone who looks at the alumni of BYUH knows that they are outstanding! They are fulfilling President McKay's vision of promoting peace and are not obsessed about earning big bucks (as some graduates from colder climates are). Also, Hart should have checked the statistics of the student body--not everyone is Polynesian or Asian: The link is http://www.byuh.edu/about/facts.php.

Kaulana Chang | 12:00 a.m. Nov. 10, 2007

As a 1996 graduate of BYUH, I never had a "Hawaiian experience" while attending the university but got an education I could have never gotten anywhere else. I am not sure what President Wheelwright means about a "Hawaiian experience" as opposed to receiving a first rate education that one could receive at Yale, Harvard, BYU Provo, or anywhere else but don't make racially motivated comments about our lack of education or lifestyle that affects the mainland students. It's how you apply yourself not the culture or geographical settings that make a profitable education. Good Luck.

2005 BYU-Hawaii Alumni | 7:51 p.m. Nov. 10, 2007

I transferred to BYU-Hawaii from a top-ten public university, and I received a much better education at BYU-H than I did at one of the supposedly best schools in the country. The class sizes are smaller which provides valuable interaction with professors, and I received opportunities for learning and growth that I never would have received had I stayed at a school with 40,000+ people. I can understand what he means by having a "Hawaiian experience;" several people I knew took this opportunity for granted because of the climate and surroundings, and did not focus on their education. But with a desire to come and be educated, the warm climate and "spirit of Aloha" only enhances the experience. BYU-Hawaii is a special place, and I am glad that they are making changes to allow more students to experience it.

BYU-H Alumni | 5:29 p.m. Nov. 11, 2007

President Wheelwright was not making a "racially motivated comment". He was refering to the fact that some students from the mainland like to come to BYU-H for a semester or two to have a "Hawaiian experience" rather than treating the school as a serious university experience, thereby taking away space from other local and Pacific Rim students who want to get their education from BYU-H.

Add your comment

Comments are monitored. Any comments found to be abusive, offensive, off-topic, misrepresentative, more than 200 words or containing URLs will not be posted.

Words Remaining

E-mail address: For internal use only. We may want to contact you to publish your comment (not your e-mail address) in the newspaper or for a separate story idea.

1 photo

Scott G. Winterton, Deseret News

LDS Church President Gordon B. Hinckley greets Steven C. Wheelwright in June at the Conference Center. Wheelwright will be formally inaugurated as the new president of BYU-Hawaii on Tuesday.