Church Leaders Install New BYU-Idaho President Clark Gilbert

Dr. Clark G. Gilbert has been formally installed as the 16th president of Brigham Young University ̶ Idaho. Inauguration ceremonies were held during the weekly devotional on the Rexburg, Idaho, campus on Tuesday, September 15, 2015.

BYU ̶ Idaho is one of four colleges and universities owned by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, second counselor in the Church’s First Presidency and second vice chairman of the BYU ̶ Idaho Board of Trustees, presided at the afternoon event. Elder Dallin H. Oaks of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles conducted the inauguration. Other Church leaders in attendance included Elder David A. Bednar and Elder Jeffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles as well as Sister Linda K. Burton, Relief Society general president, and Sister Bonnie K. Oscarson, general president of the Young Women.

“You look good,” said President Uchtdorf as he welcomed Gilbert to the podium to receive his medallion. “We welcome you into the family of institutions that are known as the Church Educational System. We are confident that you will follow the trail marked by your distinguished predecessors and move BYU ̶ Idaho forward and upward.”

”I am also humbled by the stewardship and responsibility with which I have been entrusted,” said President Gilbert. “Today, we remain on a steady, upward course of growth and discovery. We face a dual challenge: to continue to strengthen our core campus experience, even as we pioneer new ways to reach students around the world.”

Gilbert continued, “As we reflect on the need to continue to build both our campus and our online programs, we must recognize the implications of a university with increasing reach and scope across the Church. It is incumbent upon BYU–Idaho to continue to find ways to expand its reach while decreasing relative costs to the Church.”

President Uchtdorf reported that BYU ̶ Idaho now has more than 43,000 students, including online and Pathway students, making it the largest school in the Church’s education system.

“This remarkable school had its beginning during humble pioneer years,” said President Uchtdorf, who recalled when the name was changed from Ricks College to BYU ̶ Idaho 15 years ago. “It is now heading into a period often described as the days of the new American university. You are particularly well prepared and suited for leading this university during such a time.”

Gilbert began his tenure as president at BYU ̶ Idaho in April 2015. He brings a range of academic and professional experience to his assignment in Rexburg. He was appointed CEO of Deseret Digital Media in 2009 and of Deseret News Publishing Company in 2010, both in Salt Lake City. They are the publishing companies of the Deseret News, DeseretNews.com and KSL.com.

Between 2006 and 2009, Gilbert held other positions on the BYU–Idaho campus, including assistant vice president of Student Life, managing director of Student Activities and associate academic vice president, where he oversaw online learning and the Pathway program. Prior to that time he was a professor of entrepreneurial management at Harvard Business School.

Gilbert graduated from Brigham Young University with a bachelor’s degree in International Relations. He earned a master’s degree in East Asian Studies from Stanford University and a doctorate degree in Business Administration from Harvard Business School.

Gilbert has served in multiple ecclesiastical roles, including most recently as a bishop for a congregation in Bountiful, Utah, and previously as a counselor in a stake presidency.

He was born in California and raised in Arizona. After serving as a missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Japan Kobe Mission, he married Christine Calder. They are the parents of eight children.

BYU–Idaho offers 25 associate’s degrees and more than 100 bachelor’s degrees. Visit the university’s website to watch or listen to the inauguration or to university devotionals and speeches.