Brigham Young University–Hawaii
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Brigham Young University–Hawaii (BYU–Hawaii) is a
private college Private universities and private colleges are higher education institutions not operated, owned, or institutionally funded by governments. However, they often receive tax breaks, public student loans, and government grants. Depending on the count ...
in Laie, Hawaii, United States. It is owned and operated by
the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Restorationism, restorationist Christianity, Christian Christian denomination, denomination and the ...
(LDS Church). BYU–Hawaii was founded in 1955 and it became a satellite campus of
Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU) is a Private education, private research university in Provo, Utah, United States. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is the flagship university of the Church Educational System sponsore ...
(BYU) in 1974. In 2004, it was made a separate institution. The college's sole focus is on
undergraduate education Undergraduate education is education conducted after secondary education and before postgraduate education, usually in a college or university. It typically includes all postsecondary programs up to the level of a bachelor's degree. For example, ...
. The institution is broadly organized into four colleges and its parent organization, the
Church Educational System The Church Educational System (CES) of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) consists of several institutions that provide religious and secular education for both Latter-day Saint and non–Latter-day Saint elementary, sec ...
(CES), sponsors sister schools in
Utah Utah is a landlocked state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is one of the Four Corners states, sharing a border with Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. It also borders Wyoming to the northea ...
and
Idaho Idaho ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest and Mountain states, Mountain West subregions of the Western United States. It borders Montana and Wyoming to the east, Nevada and Utah to the south, and Washington (state), ...
. Approximately 97 percent of the college's 2,800 students are members of the LDS Church. BYU–Hawaii students are required to follow the Church Educational System Honor Code, which requires behavior in line with LDS teachings.


History

The LDS Church was established in the islands in 1850 following the Edict of Toleration promulgated by
Kamehameha III Kamehameha III (born Kauikeaouli) (March 17, 1814 – December 15, 1854) was the third king of the Kingdom of Hawaii from 1825 to 1854. His full Hawaiian name was Keaweaweula Kīwalaō Kauikeaouli Kaleiopapa and then lengthened to Keaweaweula K ...
, giving the underground Hawai‘i Catholic Church the right to worship, while at the same time allowing other faith traditions to begin establishing themselves. By 1919, the church was prominent enough in the area to build a
temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a place of worship, a building used for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. By convention, the specially built places of worship of some religions are commonly called "temples" in Engli ...
in Laie. Two years after the temple was dedicated then- LDS Church apostle David O. McKay stated the church would build a school in the area in the future. In 1951, McKay, as church president, began preliminary plans on the school, and in 1955 ground was broken for the new institution. Classes began at BYU–Hawaii in September 1955 as the Church College of Hawaii to accommodate the burgeoning LDS population in the Territory of Hawai‘i. This was largely a result of McKay's views on both education and strengthening the church outside of its longtime intermountain west U.S. base. The original class consisted of 153 students and 20 faculty meeting in old
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
buildings, with Reuben D. Law as the school's first president. The school's first buildings were dedicated on December 17, 1958. The college was at first a two-year college but was reorganized in 1959 to become a four-year college. By 1961 the college had been granted four-year accreditation by the
Western Association of Schools and Colleges The Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC ( )) provided accreditation of public and private universities, colleges, secondary and elementary schools in California and Hawaii, the territories of Guam, American Samoa and Northern ...
. Dormitories, a cafeteria, and other buildings had also been constructed. LDS elders established the Polynesian Cultural Center in November 1963 as a means of preserving the Pacific cultures that the Latter-day Saints had encountered in their
missionary A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group who is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thoma ...
work. In the 1970s, the school was also used to teach LDS missionaries Pacific languages and cultures before going out to the islands. The center also provided jobs for students of the college. In 1974, the Church College of Hawaii was renamed Brigham Young University–Hawaii by the Church Board of Education and began reporting to the president of BYU in Provo, Utah. The school was governed as a satellite campus of BYU until 2004, when it was announced that the school would report directly to the Commissioner of Church Education. In 2007, Steven C. Wheelwright was appointed the college's president. On May 12, 2015, Russell M. Nelson, chairman of the Executive Committee of the BYU-Hawaii Board of Trustees announced that effective July 27, 2015, John S. Tanner would succeed Wheelwright as president. On May 12, 2020, Jeffrey R. Holland, chairman of the Executive Committee of the BYU-Hawaii Board of Trustees, announced that Tanner would be succeeded as the institution's president by John S. K. Kauwe III on July 1, 2020.


Campus

BYU–Hawaii is located in Laie on the north shore of Oahu, about north of Honolulu. The campus covers between the mountains and the ocean shore. Dormitories, known as 'Hales', located on the south end of campus are capable of providing room and board for over 1,200 students. The Temple View Apartments provide housing for married students. These apartments are next to the Laie Hawaii Temple which is located directly adjacent to the campus. The school's library is the two-story Joseph F. Smith Library.


Academics


Admissions and demographics

LDS students pay less for tuition than non-LDS students. Students who have been on LDS missions and have attended LDS seminary or
institute An institute is an organizational body created for a certain purpose. They are often research organisations (research institutes) created to do research on specific topics, or can also be a professional body. In some countries, institutes ca ...
classes are also given particular consideration. However, LDS Church membership is not a requirement for attendance. Students are typically expected to have had at least a B average in high school, and an ACT score of 26 or
SAT The SAT ( ) is a standardized test widely used for college admissions in the United States. Since its debut in 1926, its name and Test score, scoring have changed several times. For much of its history, it was called the Scholastic Aptitude Test ...
score of 1130 or above. Non-native English speakers must receive a 61 or higher on the IBT
TOEFL Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL ) is a standardized test to measure the English language ability of non-native speakers wishing to enroll in English-speaking universities. The test is accepted by more than 11,000 universities an ...
(500 on the paper test), a 5.5 on IELTS, or 75+ on the Michigan language test. Approximately 97% of the student body are LDS Church members.


Organization

BYU–Hawaii offers 37 bachelor's degree programs, with a 16:1 student/faculty ratio. In Fall 2018, BYU–Hawaii restructured its academic organization from four colleges to seven faculty units. The programs under the former colleges were divided among the following seven faculty units: * Arts & Letters: Communication, Media, and Culture, English, Film, Visual Arts * Business & Government: Accounting, Business Management, Entrepreneurship, Political Science, Hospitality & Tourism Management * Culture, Language & Performing Arts: Anthropology and Cultural Sustainability, Hawaiian Studies, History, Integrated Humanities, Intercultural Peacebuilding, Music, Pacific Island Studies, Theatre, World Languages * Education & Social Work: English as an International Language, Social Work, Teacher Education, TESOL * Math & Computing: Computer Science, Information Systems, Information Technology, Mathematics * Religious Education * Sciences: Biochemistry, Biology, Chemistry, Exercise and Sport Science, Psychology, Physical Science, Physics


Athletics

BYU–Hawaii formerly competed in the
National Collegiate Athletic Association The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...
(
NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...
) Division II as a member of the Pacific West Conference. The "Seasiders" competed in men's and women's basketball, men's and women's cross-country, men's and women's golf, softball, men's and women's tennis, volleyball, and men's and women's soccer. Over its history, the school won two women's volleyball and eleven tennis championships (two men's and nine women's, along with one women's NCAA championship). In its early days, BYU–Hawaii also won a National Rugby Championship in 1967. Basketball and volleyball games were held in the George Q. Cannon Activities Center. The campus has several tennis courts, an outdoor swimming pool, and soccer and softball fields. Most conference home games in volleyball and women's basketball, as well as additional home games in
men's basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...
, were broadcast live around the world on BYUtv Sports. On March 28, 2014, the college announced that the athletics program would be phased out over the next three years, with money spent on athletics to be used to provide educational opportunities for an additional 500 students. The transition impacted all eleven (11) intercollegiate teams, including: men's/women's basketball, men's/women's cross country, men's golf, men's/women's soccer, softball, men's/women's tennis, and women's volleyball. Athletics at BYU–Hawaii ended following the spring sports in 2017.


Student life


LDS atmosphere

According to BYU–Hawaii's vision outlined by then-LDS Church president David O. McKay in 1955, the school "exists to assist individuals in their quest for perfection and eternal life and in their efforts to influence the establishment of peace internationally." All students are required to take religion classes as part of their curriculum and to attend Sunday church meetings, both LDS and non-LDS. In addition, class schedules are arranged to allow devotionals to be held weekly for the students to attend. Students from all walks of life are encouraged to learn from and strengthen each other as they all strive to further their education. A variety of clubs and campus organizations are available to participate in.


Honor code

All students and faculty are required to agree to adhere to an honor code, officially known as the CES Honor Code, but often referred to as the BYU Honor Code. Early forms of the BYU Honor Code are found as far back as the days of the Brigham Young Academy and educator Karl G. Maeser. Maeser created the "Domestic Organization," which was a group of teachers who would visit students at their homes to see that they were following the schools moral rules prohibiting premarital sex, obscenity, profanity, smoking, and alcohol consumption. The Honor Code itself was created in 1940 at BYU and was used mainly for cases of cheating and
academic dishonesty Academic dishonesty, academic misconduct, academic fraud and academic integrity are related concepts that refer to various actions on the part of students that go against the expected norms of a school, university or other learning institution ...
. Ernest L. Wilkinson expanded the Honor Code in 1957 to include other school standards. (At this time, Wilkinson, as President of BYU, had some authority over BYU–Hawaii as well.) This led to the Honor Code today: rules regarding chastity, dress, grooming, and drugs (including alcohol). A signed commitment to live the honor code is part of the application process and must be adhered by all students, faculty, and staff. Students and faculty found in violation of standards are either warned or called to meet with representatives of the Honor Council. In rare cases, students and faculty can be expelled from the school or lose tenure. One significant difference between the versions of the Honor Code used at the main BYU campus and BYU–Hawaii is specific prohibition of the drinking of
kava Kava or kava kava (''Piper methysticum'': Latin 'pepper' and Latinized Ancient Greek, Greek 'intoxicating') is a plant in the Piperaceae, pepper family, native to the Pacific Islands. The name ''kava'' is from Tongan language, Tongan and Marqu ...
by BYU-Hawaii students and faculty. Kava is a traditional Polynesian drink with some drug-like side-effects.


Alumni

Alumni of BYU–Hawaii include delegate to
Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...
from
American Samoa American Samoa is an Territories of the United States, unincorporated and unorganized territory of the United States located in the Polynesia region of the Pacific Ocean, South Pacific Ocean. Centered on , it is southeast of the island count ...
Eni Faleomavaega Eni Fa'aua'a Hunkin Faleomavaega Jr. ( ; August 15, 1943 – February 22, 2017) was an American Samoan politician and attorney who served as the territory's third lieutenant governor, from 1985 to 1989 and non-voting delegate to the United State ...
'64, and Hawaii Rainbow Warriors volleyball coach Mike Wilton '72.


References


External links

*
BYU–Hawaii Athletics website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brigham Young University-Hawaii Buildings and structures in Honolulu County, Hawaii Education in Honolulu County, Hawaii Schools accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Hawaii Universities and colleges affiliated with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Universities and colleges established in 1955 1955 establishments in Hawaii Private universities and colleges in Hawaii