President Henry B. Eyring of the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints formally installed Henry J. Eyring, his son, as BYU–Idaho’s 17th president Tuesday, September 19, 2017. Henry J. Eyring’s appointment to be BYU–Idaho’s president was announced in February, and he has been acting as president since April 10, 2017.
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“President Henry J. Eyring knows what his grandfather knew—great joy comes from building confidence in others and seeing growth in their ability to think and to do,” said the elder President Eyring to the capacity crowd at the 15,000-seat BYU–Idaho Center in Rexburg, Idaho. “It only takes a few teachers with this understanding to transform a little school into a great university. And those they lift go out in an exponential process of transforming others, to build institutions across the world.”
The school was known as Ricks College until 2001, when it became a four-year institution and was named BYU–Idaho.
President Eyring was joined by a cadre of Church leaders, including members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles (Elders Dallin H. Oaks, David A. Bednar and Dale G. Renlund); General Authority Seventy and Church Commissioner of Education Kim B. Clark; Presiding Bishop Gérald Caussé; and leaders of the Church’s Relief Society (Sister Jean B. Bingham), Young Women (Bonnie L. Oscarson) and Young Men (Brother Stephen W. Owen) organizations.
“Thanks to prophetic direction and the financial support of the Church, [BYU–Idaho stands] on higher ground,” Henry J. Eyring said in his inaugural address. “Through our integral association with BYU-Pathway Worldwide, we are blessed to be both a haven and a light to the world. We are similarly blessed as we minister to one another on this campus. May we honor our institutional birthright by building upon the providential preparations of the past and qualifying for heaven’s continued direction.”
Watch a replay of the inauguration ceremony
More About Henry J. Eyring
Henry J. Eyring earned degrees in geology, business administration and law from Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah. He has worked at Monitor Company in Cambridge, Massachusetts, as a strategy consultant; at BYU–Provo as an MBA director; and at BYU–Idaho as associate academic vice president over online learning, advancement vice president and his most recent role as academic vice president.
Eyring’s time with BYU–Idaho extends back to 1971, when his father, Henry B. Eyring of the Church’s First Presidency, was president of Ricks College (now known as BYU–Idaho).
Eyring and his wife, Kelly, are the parents of five children.