Part of Brigham Young University’s unique light derives from its keen focus on and commitment to its mission and aims. As a professor teaching molecular biology, I found that my ability to serve, lift, and educate students increased as I focused on the aims of providing spiritually strengthening, intellectually enlarging, and character building experiences in my classrooms and lab. Having this clear and ambitious university standard amplified my light as a faculty member by helping me decide how to allocate my most precious classroom resource: time.
When I stepped into the role of dean of the College of Life Sciences in July of 2022, I felt impressed to engage in an introspective exercise with our college community to evaluate how the College of Life Sciences adds to BYU’s unique light. Now, at the culmination of our year-long effort to determine what we as a college value most, I am delighted to present the College of Life Sciences’ newly articulated vision, mission, and values.
The formal expression of these guiding principles centers us firmly in the university’s mission, aims, and strategic priorities. It provides a reference point to guide our decisions as we focus on fulfilling President Russell M. Nelson’s declaration at the dedication of the BYU Life Sciences Building in April 2015: “For students, there is nowhere better to confront the questions shared between science and religion than in the College of Life Sciences at Brigham Young University.”
Respectfully yours,
