At a media question-and-answer session following inauguration, President Steven C. Wheelwright was all smiles. "I feel terrific," the newly installed leader said. "It's so great to have President Eyring here, to have my wife and family here, and to have the entire BYU 'ohana family… it's great. I love it!"
That BYU-Hawaii 'ohana included thousands on campus who arrived to show their support for the ninth president of the university. Some of the highest praise came from President Henry B. Eyring, Second Counselor in the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
"President Hinckley is so much better than I am, yet he makes me feel like I'm okay. He has that gift…and I think President Wheelwright has that gift, he's smarter than most of us but he doesn't make us feel that way. He makes us feel that we can be smarter, and he will have that kind of effect here," Eyring said.
While a professor at Stanford, Eyring became acquainted with Wheelwright as the latter worked on his doctoral degree. During the inaugural ceremony Eyring and Wheelwright recalled those days. "The research we did together was a team effort," President Eyring stated. "If you had watched the four of us working together you might have wondered who the teachers were and who the students were…You would have seen that Steve worked the longest hours, did the best work, and did it with a perpetual happy smile."
"I am sure that almost forty years ago, when I was a struggling Ph.D. student working under the direction of then Professor Eyring, neither he nor I would have imagined that I might one day be in a position such as this," President Wheelwright said. BYU-Hawaii's president also mentioned that he has long admired President Eyring and has always sought to learn from him.
Other longtime friends and associates who came to support Wheelwright included Kim B. Clark, president of Brigham Young University-Idaho. The two worked together for many years at Harvard Business School and after retirement, Wheelwright was called by LDS Church leaders as a university assistant to Clark.
"Steve is an interesting combination. He's a highly competent executive. He's very organized, he's very focused, he has the tremendous capacity to work, to take on problems and really follow them through and make sure that things get done well. But at the same time, he is a very spiritual man. He has a great spirit about him," Clark said.
With all the visitors coming to campus, the Wheelwrights welcomed a wide variety of people into their new 'ohana, including high-ranking government officials. "I feel as if I've been let in to a family gathering here and made a part of it," said Hawaii Governor Linda Lingle during a luncheon after the ceremony. "The more I know about what's going on at BYU-Hawaii, the stronger I feel about the importance of this institution to our community…every time that you've included me in your family here, at BYU-Hawaii, I appreciate it very much."
As was evidenced from the amount of support throughout the week of inauguration, Steven C. Wheelwright has a wide range of experiences to draw from as he has accepted his new assignment and calling. It's also clear that Wheelwright has full confidence from many people.
"It's an interesting combination, you know. [He's] someone who's very, very focused, very task oriented, and yet someone who's also very compassionate, loving, a great spiritual leader. So, just what you want for the president of BYU-Hawaii, I think," Clark said.
Throughout the past week, President Wheelwright has often been seen smiling, and in the media question-and-answer session, President Eyring returned to that trademark smile. "I think Steve is the perfect example, literally, of what makes a great university president. He'd be great anywhere, by the way. But he does bring a dimension here that we have to have—of a faith in God that is our Father and that we can become better than we ever dreamed we could have because of the influence of His Son, Jesus Christ. He has that feeling in a practical level, always has. I think the smile is because of that."
Front row (left to right): Sister Margaret Wheelwright, President Steven C. Wheelwright, President Henry B. Eyring. Photos by Monique Saenz.