Brigham Young University-Hawai'i's president-designate is a former senior associate dean of the Harvard Business School with deep ties to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Steven C. Wheelwright has worked to place students from all over the world in business positions and will continue to do so at BYU-Hawai'i, officials said yesterday.

Wheelwright retired last year as a Baker Foundation professor and senior associate dean at the Harvard Business School and director of the school's publication activities.

Gordon B. Hinckley, president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and chairman of the board of trustees of BYU-Hawai'i, announced Wheelwright's selection yesterday morning via satellite from the Conference Center in Salt Lake City.

"I know President Wheelwright will take BYU-Hawai'i to new heights," Hinckley said. "Through his expertise and many associations, I'm confident he will expand the influence of BYU-Hawai'i and bless the lives of all who come to this illustrious school."

Wheelwright and his wife, Margaret, spoke to faculty and students at BYUH's Cannon Activities Center yesterday morning via video conference from Salt Lake City.

"In terms of looking ahead, I see the great opportunity for myself and my wife to be a part of the wonderful group" of faculty, staff and students, Wheelwright said. "The first thing I'm going to be focused on is learning so that I can get to understand and know the people, the organization, the situation, the challenges (and) the opportunities."

GROWING CAMPUS

Wheelwright joins the university at a period of growth. The number of degrees awarded has grown from 215 bachelor's degrees during the 1996-97 academic year to more than 500 a year each year since 2000, according to the school's Web site.

From a handful of students 50 years ago, it has grown to an enrollment of about 2,400 undergraduates from 75 different countries and cultures from Asia, the Pacific Rim, the islands of the South Pacific and the United States.

Twenty-one percent of the university's enrollment is from Asia, and Wheelwright yesterday said he's maintained close ties with colleagues and former students he met while working in China and Japan.

Wheelwright said his top priorities include improving the quality of the school's education, while at the same time lowering the cost.

"It is a serious charge that we have been given, and I look forward to the opportunity as we find ways to innovate, to be creative and to better accomplish the mission of the school, which is to help young men and young women who attend there to be better prepared for a life of learning and service in whatever their chosen career might be," he said.

He said he is also excited to begin working with the Polynesian Cultural Center, a nonprofit institution founded by the church and university in 1963.

"One of the great strengths of BYU-Hawai'i is the relationship it has with the Polynesian Cultural Center," he said. "It's something the university has long valued and that I value very highly," he added, noting that the center is one of his and his wife's favorite places to visit in the Islands.

SHUMWAY RETIRING

Wheelwright will succeed Eric B. Shumway, who is retiring after serving as Brigham Young University-Hawai'i's president since 1994, and in other capacities since 1966. Shumway will serve as president of the Mormon temple in Nuku'alofa, Tonga, for three years. His wife, Carolyn, will serve as the temple's matron.

Yesterday, Shumway said the president-designee's educational experience and links to the church will elevate the school's visibility.

"I thought today was very important because it shows everybody how important higher education is in the church and what a premium and what an opinion the church leaders have in this place," Shumway said. "It's just a wonderful place where kids from 75 different nations come together and live in harmony; it's an absolute miracle."

After receiving an MBA and a doctorate from Stanford University, Wheelwright spent a year on the faculty at INSEAD, a business school in Fontainebleau, France, and spent the remainder of his academic career at Harvard and Stanford, according to a news release.

As a young man, Wheelwright served as a missionary for The Church of Latter-day Saints, in Scotland. He later served as a mission president in London from 2000 to 2003. He has been a church counselor, high councilor and bishop.

Since leaving Harvard, he and his wife have been service missionaries at BYU-Idaho, the release said.

The Wheelwrights will travel today to O'ahu from their home in Oakley, Utah, and will speak to students at a devotional assembly tomorrow morning. He will be officially installed June 23 during commencement exercises.