Presiding Bishop Merrill J. Bateman has been named the 11th president of Brigham Young University, effective Jan. 1, 1996, President Gordon B. Hinckley announced Thursday, Nov. 2.
Bishop Bateman, 59, has also been called to the First Quorum of the Seventy, President Hinckley announced at a media conference in the Joseph Smith Memorial Building in Salt Lake City.Elder Bateman will be the first General Authority to serve as BYU president.
President Hinckley's counselors in the First Presidency, President Thomas S. Monson and President James E. Faust, also attended the conference. After making the announcement, President Hinckley, who is chairman of the BYU Board of Trustees, invited Elder Bateman and his wife, Marilyn, into the room to meet the media. The members of the First Presidency then left for other business.
Elder Bateman succeeds Rex E. Lee as BYU president. Pres. Lee has requested a release from his position due to continuing health problems. The effective date of his release is Dec. 31.
Elder Bateman brings to his new position a background of strong administrative and academic experience. He was sustained as the Presiding Bishop of the Church on April 2, 1994. Previously he was called to serve in the Second Quorum of the Seventy in June 1992.
A former dean of the College of Business and the School of Management at BYU, Elder Bateman said he is excited to once again be a part of the BYU community. However, he said, "I really had no idea. It was a complete shock to me." He told the media that he was on the search committee for a new president, but "mine was not one of the three names I submitted."
This will be the third time that Elder Bateman has been associated with BYU. From 1967-1969, he was an associate professor of economics. He served as dean from 1975-1979, and then was a professor of economics from 1979-1981.
After Elder Bateman and his wife made brief remarks to the media, Elder Bateman then answered questions.
He was asked if there was any significance about being a General Authority and being named president of BYU. "I don't know if there's any great significance to it except it clearly indicates the importance of the university, I believe, to the leaders of the Church, and indicates the importance of the university in terms of its role with regard to the young people of the Church."
Elder Bateman said he is excited for a third time "to be part of what is a great beacon of light to the young people of the world."
Defining his perception of the role of BYU, he said: "The university is a Church educational institution. It plays a very important role in the Church's efforts to take the gospel to every nation, kindred, tongue and people. Church funds are used to fund the institution.
"It is important that the signals from the university be very clear in terms of where it stands on various issues."
Later, in response to a question about academic freedom, he said: "We believe that the faculty members should be able to express their honest opinions with regard to various issues. But it is very important that members of the Brigham Young University community support and stand behind the principles that are espoused by the Church because it is a Church institution and it is expected to represent the values that the Church represents and teaches."
A native of Lehi, Utah, Elder Bateman earned a bachelor's degree in economics at the University of Utah and a doctorate in the same subject from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Early in his career he was an instructor at the U.S. Air Force Academy.
In private business, Bishop Bateman was an executive with Mars Inc. in England and in the United States. Prior to his call as a General Authority, he owned a management consulting company and a capital management company in Orem, Utah.
Bishop Bateman said his business background will enable him to maintain efficiency of operations at BYU.
He added: "I think one of the major functions of the university is to be a teaching institution. . . . Our effort will be to increase the prominence of the university as a teaching institution." He said that recent national rankings placed BYU among the top 25 teaching institutions in the United States.
When asked about the enrollment ceiling at BYU that restricts the number of students admitted, Bishop Bateman said he doesn't think that will change to allow more students on campus. He said, however, he believes advances in technology will enable BYU to reach out to a broader community, expanding the geography of the university.
He also mentioned the Church educational opportunities offered through institute programs around the world.
About his new calling, Elder Bateman said, "I must say that I was very shocked by it because I had just been serving as the Presiding Bishop of the Church for a year and a half, and we are initiating some important things in that area," he said. "But I immediately realized that my counselors
Bishops H. David Burton and Richard C. EdgleyT and other good men could easily carry on there. And if the First Presidency wanted me to serve as president of Brigham Young University, I would be happy to do so."
He paid tribute to those who preceded him as president of BYU, and talked extensively about his relationship with Pres. Lee, a longtime neighbor. He said that while he was Pres. Lee's stake president and Pres. Lee was his bishop, Pres. Lee was diagnosed with a deadly form of cancer. Elder Bateman and a home teacher gave Pres. Lee a blessing in which he was told he still had a mission to perform. A year later, after receiving cancer treatment, Pres. Lee was called to be president of BYU. He began service on July 1, 1989.
Elder Bateman commended the contributions Pres. Lee made to BYU during his tenure. He also paid tribute to his own wife, who has followed him around the world in his assignments over the years. They are the parents of seven children and have 16 grandchildren.
In addition to serving as a stake president, Elder Bateman has also served as a bishop and regional representative.
In her remarks, Sister Bateman said she and her husband are excited to return to the BYU family. She said she looks forward to renewing acquaintances and meeting the many new people there, as well as the large group of young students.
