Dallin H. Oaks To Merrill J. Bateman
Dallin H. Oaks replaced Wilkinson as President in 1971. Oaks continued the expansion of his predecessor, adding a law school and proposing plans for a new School of Management. During his administration, a new library was also added, doubling the library space on campus. Oaks was called to the Church's Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in 1984, and was replaced by Jeffrey R. Holland as President. Holland encouraged a combination of educational excellence and religious faith at the university. He believed that one of the school's greatest strengths was its religious nature, and believed that should be taken advantage of, rather than hid. During his administration, the university added a campus in Jerusalem, now called the BYU Jerusalem Center. When the new campus faced local opposition, Holland personally visited protesters and promised, in writing, that nobody associated with the new campus would proselyte, leading to the Center's successful completion. In 1989, Holland was replaced by Rex E. Lee. Lee was responsible for the Benson Science Building and the Museum of Art on campus. A cancer survivor, Lee is honored annually at BYU during a cancer fundraiser called the Rex Lee Run.
Lee was replaced in 1996 by Merrill J. Bateman. From 1996 to 1999, Bateman oversaw the expansion of the Harold B. Lee Library. He also strengthened the foundations of several buildings on campus in case of an earthquake. Later in his term, he began plans for the Joseph F. Smith Building, completed in 2004. All in all, Bateman was responsible for the building of 36 new buildings for the University both on and off campus, including the Barlow Center in Washington D. C.. This center was a place for students to stay, as well as and important BYU presence in the city. Athletics programs also saw development under Bateman. Under him, the woman's softball team came into being. He was also one of several key college leaders who brought about the creation of the Mountain West Conference, which BYU's athletics program joined. Previously, BYU had been in the Western Athletic Conference. Bateman was instrumental in a push to rename "Cougar Stadium", "LaVell Edwards Stadium" in 2000, in honor of BYU football coach LaVell Edwards. He also led a push among several universities to reverse an NCAA ruling that games could be scheduled on Sunday (an effort which was unsuccessful). Overall, sports programs flourished under Bateman's tenure. In the computing and technology area, Bateman directed a merging of BYU's computer systems with the LDS church's, as well as enlarging the resources available to computing majors. A BYU satellite TV network also opened in 2000, under his leadership. Bateman was also president during the September 11th attacks in 2001. The planes crashed on a Tuesday, mere hours before the weekly devotional normally held at BYU. Previous plans for the devotional were altered, as Bateman led the student body in a prayer for peace.
Read more about this topic: History Of Brigham Young University
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