In President Kimball’s 1975 “Second Century Address,” he said Brigham Young University would be a unique light to the world. We recognize the sacred responsibility to nurture this light in the students who entrust us with their education. During the few years that we engage with them in the College of Life Sciences, we strive to cultivate an environment of learning by study, by faith, and by experience in an effort to expand their brightness.
In this issue of Impact, we are delighted to share with you some of the ways our students and alumni are sharing their light for the benefit of the world. Alumnus Elder Larry Echo Hawk details how faith was the catalyst for his life’s achievements. In addition, faculty are reaching across the globe and collaborating with other universities on sustainable agriculture to assist Rwandans in overcoming food shortages and malnutrition. And an all-female undergraduate team is revolutionizing the landscape of forensic investigations in domestic violence cases.
We are also pleased to mark fifty years of teaching evolution at BYU. Learn the fascinating history that led to our internationally recognized research programs in evolutionary biology—developed in a college and university that unequivocally declares our conviction that God is the creator of this earth and that all human beings are His children.
We treasure the words that our prophet Russell M. Nelson shared at the dedication of the BYU Life Sciences Building in 2015: “This university is dedicated to searching for truth and to teaching the truth. All truth is part of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Whether truth comes from a scientific laboratory or by revelation from the Lord, it is compatible.”
Respectfully yours,
