PRESIDENT’S BRIGHAM YOUNG UNIVERSITY–HAWAII 2015–16 FROM ONLINE TO ON CAMPUS Page 4 New Beginnings New president John S. Tanner builds on firm foundations page 3 Prophetic Destiny Book chronicles first 60 years of BYU–Hawaii page 6 FUNDRAISING REPORT 17% TRUSTEES AND PRESIDENT’S FUND MAHALO FOR YOUR 77% STUDENT AID GENEROSITY! including I-WORK, PCC work-study opportunities, scholarships, and You are accelerating the work of internship assistance 6% BYU–Hawaii. In 2014 donor support PROGRAMS AND CENTERS was allocated to the following: such as BYU–Hawaii Online and the Center for Learning and Teaching 1in5 90% 100% current students receive I-WORK funding. of the I-WORK program is funded by donor of your donation goes toward supporting Your donations provided educational contributions. I-WORK and other student- BYU–Hawaii and its students. Whether you opportunities and enhanced the BYU– aid programs remain our largest fundrais- choose to give to a specific program, such Hawaii experience for these students; ing priority. Our goal is to fund the I-WORK as I-WORK, or without restriction to the many of them would not be able to attend program entirely by donor contributions, Trustees and President’s Fund, no amount without your support. and the program is growing as we enroll of any donation is used to cover fundrais- more international students. ing expenses. Your donations to BYU–Hawaii bless students THANKS FOR GIVING! and assist the university in fulfilling its mission. President’s Report spotlights people and accomplishments related to fundraising at Brigham Young University– Editor in Chief Photographer Hawaii. This report is published by LDS Philanthropies in conjunction with the Office of the President and Rob Smoot Monique Saenz University Communications and is sent to donors and supporters of the university. LDS Philanthropies is a Lead Editor Contributing Editors Church department that encourages and facilitates philanthropic support for programs and charities affiliated Andrew Miller Michael Johanson with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, including BYU–Hawaii. For more information on giving to BYU–Hawaii, contact your donor liaison, visit give.byuh.edu, or call 1-800-525-8074. Lead Designer John Kung © 2015 Brigham Young University–Hawaii. All rights reserved. 2 PRESIDENT’S REPORT 2015–16 PRESIDENT’S REPORT Building on Firm Foundations By President John S. Tanner usan and I are humbled and honored to serve at Brigham Young To prepare for my service at BYU–Hawaii, I have studied and been inspired by University–Hawaii, and we thank you for your generous gifts to the univer- the history of the university and the nature of its prophetic destiny. One of the sity and its students. These sacred funds help support our wonderful stu- things I read was a history of the dedicated and devoted labor missionaries who Sdents as they strive to become lifelong learners, Christlike leaders, and builders of sweated and toiled under a hot Hawaiian sun to build this beautiful campus and their families, the Church, and their communities. fulfill the vision of President McKay. In the short time that we have been on campus, we have felt a tremendous love When I came to campus I was deeply moved to learn that we are literally build- for and from the students. There is a great power and purpose at this university. ing on the foundation laid by these labor missionaries. Recently, when a construc- We are not merely helping students know something; we are helping students tion crew began to rebuild the 60-year-old hales (dormitories), it was discovered become something. President David O. McKay taught that true education pro- that the old foundations could be reused because the labor missionaries had built duces people of noble character. The students at BYU–Hawaii are the “genuine such strong foundations. These foundations were meant to last. The project histo- gold” that he prophesied would come out of this university. rian wrote: “Under every building there is a two-foot pad of crushed coral. Surely, this is a building that will serve humanity for many, many years.” Now these foun- dations are being used to support the weight of an additional story in remodeled hales that will likely last many, many more years. I love this symbolism. The modern university is also built on foundations laid by labor missionaries, students, faculty members, administrators—including the nine presidents who have preceded me—and, above all, prophets of God. When we remodel or add stories, we build on firm foundations. As the new president of BYU–Hawaii, I am committed to building on the firm foundations laid by pioneers, past presidents, prophets, and the Prince of Peace. I am honored to be part of a university that aspires to be a house of learning and light, a university built in the shadow of a temple and located in a historic place of refuge and gathering—a Zion university. Thank you for your support of this great institution. This university has a role to play in the international Church as we prepare students who are able to serve with a spirit of love and peace. Your support of these students accelerates the work of the university and helps build the kingdom one life at a time. The fulfillment of President McKay’s prophecy is unfolding before our eyes, and if the past is pro- logue, then there are many great miracles yet to come. Visit about.byuh.edu/president to learn more about President Tanner President John S. Tanner and his wife, Susan W. Tanner, assumed leadership of and to read his ongoing series of essays, called Pacific Ponderings, about BYU–Hawaii on July 27, 2015. President Tanner will be inaugurated as the 10th the university and its prophetic destiny. president of BYU–Hawaii on November 10, 2015. 3 PRESIDENT’S REPORT 2015–16 PIONEER ON CAMPUS FROM ONLINE TO ON CAMPUS Watch a short video about Battsey at give.byuh.edu/battseyvideo. attsengel “Battsey” Chagdgaa, a BYU–Hawaii student from Mongolia, is While taking online classes Battsey learned about another BYU–Hawaii pro- grateful for the assistance that enables her to attend BYU–Hawaii, and gram, I-WORK, which enabled her to attend BYU–Hawaii as a full-time student. although she hasn’t finished her education yet, she is already giving back. She is now studying accounting and hospitality and tourism management, and BShe prepared herself to attend BYU–Hawaii through the university’s online she is making the most of every moment. “After I came here, I realized I have been distance-learning program, and now that she is a full-time student on campus, she given so much opportunity, and I should grow as much as possible,” she says. “I is serving as an online mentor to students back home in Mongolia. always look for new things, new opportunities. Coming here helped me to realize I have to push myself to learn as much as possible.” Nurturing a Dream As part of the I-WORK program, Battsey works part-time at the Polynesian Battsey joined the Church when she was a teenager, and she met and admired Cultural Center (PCC). One might think that balancing work and classes would many graduates of BYU–Hawaii. She thought it would be great to attend there be too much, but for Battsey it has been a great blessing. “It helps me to focus on herself someday; however, she could not afford to go to college in her own country, my studies instead of thinking about my financial problems,” she says. Further- let alone in the United States. Battsey is the youngest child in a family of 10, so more, Battsey’s job has been an education in itself. She has been working as an her parents could not afford to send her, and like many young adults in Mongolia, accounting clerk at PCC, applying the things she is learning in the classroom and Battsey could not find a job that would pay enough for her to fund her education. gaining experience in her field. Battsey later prepared to serve a full-time mission and received her patriarchal blessing, which promised her that when she completed her mission, she would Enter to Learn; Go Forth to Serve receive the education she would need for her future. When she returned home, she Battsey often thinks back to when she was a youth and saw the great examples of was tempted to stay and help support her family, but in the end she realized that BYU–Hawaii alumni who returned to Mongolia to serve, and now she wants to be gaining an education would make her more valuable and better able to assist her one of them—although she is not waiting until she gets home. family and contribute to her community. Between classes and work, Battsey serves as a mentor for students in Mongolia who are working to come to BYU–Hawaii through the online distance-learning The Lord Provides a Way program. She is also president of the Mongolian Student Association on campus As promised in Battsey’s patriarchal blessing, the Lord provided a way for her to and is preparing herself and her fellow Mongolian students to return home. “I look receive an education—or two ways, to be exact. forward to working with the Mongolian students and helping them as much as I First, one of Battsey’s friends introduced her to BYU–Hawaii’s online can,” she says, “because I know that when we get back home, the knowledge and distance-learning program, which allowed Battsey to take English classes to build experience we got here will help us to support other Mongolians.