Biography
Tanner grew up in Pasadena, California one of 13 children of William and Athelia Tanner. He served an LDS mission in Brazil. Tanner received his bachelor's degree in 1974 from Brigham Young University. This same year he married Susan Winder. He then began studies at the University of California at Berkley where he received his Ph.D. in English in 1980.
Tanner began his academic career as an assistant professor at Florida State University. He has also been a Fulbright Scholar in Brazil. Bothered in Florida by the freedom feminist and atheist colleagues had to speak about their beliefs, while he had to hold his tongue about his, as well as by his wife's homesickness for Utah, Tanner became a member of the BYU faculty in 1982. Tanner has focused much of his studies on John Milton. He wrote a book entitled Anxiety in Eden that received the Best Book Award from the Milton Society of America in 1992. Tanner was also a contributor to the Encyclopedia of Mormonism.
From 1992 to 1998 Tanner was the Associate Academic Vice President for Undergraduate and International Education at BYU. In this capacity he developed the Freshman Academy program to better transition new freshmen into BYU. He was also involved with developing BYU's current policy on academic freedom. Tanner also oversaw changes in BYU's General Education requirements, including a reduction in the Physical Education requirement. In 2001 Paul Y. Hoskisson edited a volume entitled Historicity and the Latter-day Saint Scriptures which included a chapted by Tanner entitled "The World and the Word: History, Literature and Scripture".
From 1998 to 2003 Tanner served as the chair of the BYU English Department. In 2004 he was made the Academic Vice President of BYU. In this position Tanner normally announced changes in the administration under him.
Tanner composed the University's Educational AIMs (Spiritually Strengthening, Intellectually Enlarging, Character Building, Lifelong Learning and Service). Tanner was also involved in writing the letter LDS missionaries receive instructing them on their assignment.
In 2011 Tanner was assigned to serve as president of the Brazil São Paulo South Mission.
Read more about this topic: John S. Tanner (Mormon)
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