After long service to BYU-Hawaii in several positions, Eric B. Shumway, vice president for academics, has been named president of the school. He will succeed Alton L. Wade, who will become vice president of student life at BYU in Provo, Utah.
The change will be effective this summer, said BYU Pres. Rex E. Lee, who made the announcement April 14 in the BYU-Hawaii Cannon Activities Center.Pres. Lee also announced that Brad W. Farnsworth, BYU-Hawaii vice president for administrative services, will succeed Dee F. Andersen who is retiring in August as administrative vice president at BYU.
The new BYU-Hawaii president began his career at BYU-Hawaii as an instructor in the English department in 1966. Since then, he has been a professor of English and chairman of the Communications and Language Arts Division, as well as a vice president.
"What a great blessing it is for BYU to have Eric Shumway as the eighth president of BYU-Hawaii," Pres. Lee said. "He is profoundly committed to the principles of BYU and its sponsoring church. He is also an outstanding teacher and scholar and has a wealth of experience as vice president of BYU-Hawaii."
After the announcment, Brother Shumway said, "I am proud to be a part of this great university. In all my years at BYU-Hawaii, I haven't seen a closer relationship between faculty, administrators and students than exists today. I'm sure we will face challenges, but I have total faith in the strength and cooperation that exists among the BYU-Hawaii faculty and staff."
Brother Shumway was raised in St. Johns, Ariz. He earned bachelor's (1964) and master's (1966) degrees in English at BYU. After beginning his career at BYU-Hawaii, he took a leave of absence to earn a doctorate at the University of Virginia.
He has served as vice president for academics at BYU-Hawaii since 1980, with the exception of three years when he served as mission president in Tonga from 1986-1989.
Brother Shumway is married to Carolyn Merrill Shumway and they have seven children.
"I could not be more pleased with the appointment of Eric Shumway as the next president of BYU-Hawaii," Pres. Wade said. "He is eminently qualified to guide this great institution to new heights of excellence in the coming years."
Brother Farnsworth has been vice president for administrative services at BYU-Hawaii since 1992.
He received a master's degree from BYU in accounting. His experience includes two years as a principal manager with the Church Auditing Department. He is married to Deborah Hulme Farnsworth and they have five children.
