Cecil O. Samuelson

Infobox University President
name =Cecil O. Samuelson


caption =
order =12th
university =President of BYU
term_start =May 1, 2003
term_end =Present
birth_date =Birth date and age|1941|8|1|mf=y
birth_place =Salt Lake City, Utah
death_date =
death_place =
predecessor =Merrill J. Bateman
successor =
alumnus =University of Utah
Duke University
residence =Provo, Utah
profession =Professor of medicine, health care administrator
religion =The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
salary =
spouse =Sharon Giauque Samuelson
children =
website = [http://unicomm.byu.edu/president/samuelson.aspx Office of the President]
footnotes =|

Cecil Osborn Samuelson, Jr. (born August 1, 1941) is the 12th and current president of Brigham Young University (BYU). Prior to this appointment on May 1, 2003, Samuelson had worked as a professor of medicine and later dean of the school of medicine at the University of Utah, and senior vice president Intermountain Health Care."News of the Church: Elder Cecil O. Samuelson, Jr...," "Ensign", Nov. 1994] [ [http://unicomm.byu.edu/president/samuelson.aspx BYU - Cecil O. Samuelson ] ]

Samuelson served as a full-time missionary to Scotland as a youth [ [http://www.gapages.com/samueco1.htm Cecil O. Samuelson, Jr., General Authority ] ] and has continued church service in his adulthood—being appointed to the First Quorum of the Seventy in 1994, and also serving as an Area President, as one of the seven presidents of the Seventy, and as the general president of the church's Sunday School organization.Fact|date=May 2008

While serving in the LDS North America West Area Presidency, Samuelson was a signatory to a May 11, 1999 letter to all adult congregants in California in advance of voting on Proposition 22. The letter advised LDS members in California to "do all you can by donating your means and time to assure a successful vote." [cite news | author= AP | title= LDS urged to back a ban on gay marriage | date= 5 July 1999 | publisher= "Deseret News"] [cite news |title=Proposition 22 Dominates California Wards' Attention, Divides Members |url=http://www.sunstoneonline.com/magazine/issues/118/118-86-95.pdf |work=Sunstone |publisher=Sunstone Education Foundation |date=April 2001 |pages= 86-92 |format=PDF |accessdate=2008-05-19 ]

President Samuelson began his administration as President of BYU with a call for the faculty to "raise the bar" in their expectations of students. He also initiated a revamping of Student Housing to allow it to better augment the goals of the university. President Samuelson gave a talk in September 2007 to BYU students on the theme "The Year of the Constitution". In his talk he stated that the Constitution of the United States is not complete yet, and must be altered to adapt to a changing world. He also stated, in agreement with the doctrine of LDS Church, that the Constitution is a divinely inspired document. [ [http://newsnet.byu.edu/story.cfm/65232 The Year of the Constitution] ] [ [http://news.byu.edu/archive07-Sep-samtalk.aspx BYU News - Release ] ]

He holds a bachelors, a master's degree, and an M.D. from the University of Utah and completed his residency at Duke University Medical Center in Durham, North Carolina.

References

External links

* [http://unicomm.byu.edu/president/samuelson.aspx BYU bio of Samuelson]
* [http://www.desnews.com/cn/view/1,1721,495006027,00.html?varA=Y U.S. Constitution Divinely influenced]
* [http://newsnet.byu.edu/story.cfm/65232 The Year of the Constitution]