Dean’s Message from October 2011 (Ghostwriter-Jenny Spencer)
Welcome to the October edition of the eNewsletter. Homecoming has come and gone,
and we were thrilled to see so many of you back in Provo for the festivities. Its theme
was “Hold High the Torch.” We were all reminded that as BYU Alumni, we have a
responsibility to stand tall for the values we cherish and the place we come from.
We’ve had some exciting speakers recently, and this past week, Michael Bahr, an
alumnus of Statistics and an accomplished actuary in the health industry, spoke at the
college's Honored Alumni Lecture. He gave a fascinating lecture exploring a number of
issues associated with the new health care reform law and outlined some of the
significant challenges that lie ahead in trying to address the health needs in this country.
His insights gave us a thought-provoking outlook for the future of health care.
Also, Dr. John W. Welch delivered the distinguished Summerhays Lecture, sponsored
by the Department of Physics and Astronomy. Dr. Welch is also the editor-in-chief of
BYU Studies, a popular journal dedicated to scholarly efforts and religious beliefs.
During his lecture titled “Forging a Friendly Alliance between Mormonism and Science,”
Dr. Welch expounded upon the many different ways that science and religion work hand
in hand. The room was packed as eager students and faculty listened to Dr. Welch
share his viewpoints on this hot topic. (You can read more about his lecture here.)
Both of these events provided attendees with an engaging look into a variety of
fascinating topics. We are proud to have been able to present these two knowledgeable
and excellent speakers to our students, alumni and friends, and we encourage you to
read more about their presentations and learn from their wealth of experiences.
We hope that you were able to attend many of the Homecoming festivities, since they
inspired us to “hold high the torch.” It was fun to be able to connect with old friends and
faculty with the many gatherings this weekend sponsored by different departments. And
the BYU musical and dance ensembles along with Brian Stokes Mitchell certainly put on
quite the show at this year’s Homecoming Spectacular.
Here at CPMS, we want to continue to build and strengthen our relationship with you,
our college alumni, long after you've moved on from school and into your respective
careers. We were thrilled to continue that important process this past week with those
who returned for Homecoming, and we hope that you will always remember to “hold high
the torch.”
As always, thank you for your continued support of the college. We look forward to
keeping in touch in new and exciting ways.