Brigham Young University. Executive Committee

The Executive Committee, like the Board of Trustees, was part of the administrative structure the University inherited from the Brigham Young Academy in 1903. In its original organization and until 1939, the Executive Committee consisted of members of the Board of Trustees who were likewise men with prominent business or Church positions in Utah Valley. These men were chosen because of their proximity to the University. Some of the individuals included Senator and Apostle Reed Smoot (1904-1921), businessman Jesse Knight (1904-1920), businessman, President of the Alpine Stake and later President of the Salt Lake Temple Stephen L. Chipman (1918-1939) and former mayor of Provo and President of the Utah Stake Thomas N. Taylor (1921-1939). In 1939 the Executive Committee, like the Board of Trustees, was reorganized so that presently the Committee is made up of General Authorities or General Officers of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Variant names

Executive Committee of the Brigham Young University Board of Trustees

Brigham Young University Executive Committee

Description

Established: 1903

Location: Provo, Utah (1903-1939)

Location: Salt Lake City, Utah (1939- )

Functions

The Executive Committee was created by the Board of Trustees to conduct preliminary discussions and in-depth reviews of issues or problems relating to the University and then present their recommendations to the Board. Officially, the Executive Committee is not to act in place of the Board of Trustees except by formal delegation of authority; however, at least up until the 1960's, the Executive Committee itself handled much of the Board's administrative duties in between Board meetings, where their actions were ratified. Major issues and transactions were simply reviewed by the Committee and later presented to the Board of Trustees.

Assets and Administrative Structure

The Executive Committee has always been made up of members of the Board of Trustees. Up until 1939 the Board desired the members of the Committee to be individuals who lived close to the University; however, after that time the Committee was filled with General Authorities and General Officers of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who served on both the Board of Trustees and the Church Board of Education. Shortly after the restructuring of the Board of Trustees and the Executive Committee, the current University President was added as a member of the Committee, though not to the Board of Trustees. The University President remained a member of the Committee until c. 1964. The Executive Committee still meets with the University President, though he is no longer considered a member.

Associated Units

Superior unit: Brigham Young University. Board of Trustees (1903- )

Associated Archival Materials

Brigham Young University Board of Trustees Records, 1875-1985, (UA 6)

Records of the Executive Committee and Board of Trustees Business, 1907-1922, (UA 148)

Sources

Accreditation Self-Study, 2006 (UA 1262 Box 1) (Executive Committee to conduct preliminary discussions and reviews of issues; frequently meets with the University President; does not act in place of the Board except by formal delegation of authority)

Brigham Young University: The First One Hundred Years, 1975: v. 2 p. 363 (Board of Trustees same as the General Church Board of Education after 1939 reconstruction)

Brigham Young University Board of Trustees Records, 1875-1985 (UA 6) (the Executive Committee handled administrative business of the Board of Trustees; their decisions were ratified by the Board; met primarily in Provo before 1939 and in Salt Lake City after); (Box 1 Fol 3) (University President added to the Executive Committee); (Box 11 Fol 1) (the Board of Trustees desired the members of the Executive Committee to live close to the University)

Brigham Young University Annual Catalog, 1904-1905: p. 6 (Reed Smoot and Jesse Knight members of the Executive Committee)

Brigham Young University Annual Catalog, 1918-1919: p. 4 (Stephen L. Chipman member of the Executive Committee)

Brigham Young University Annual Catalog, 1919-1920: p. 4 (Thomas N. Taylor member of the Executive Committee)

Meeting Minutes (UA 5, Fol 14) (created by the Board of Trustees to make special studies of problems and to submit their recommendations to the Board of Trustees for approval)

Maintenance Information

Record ID: EAC-2010-00170

Creator: JDM