Appointments

Kenneth L. Alford was promoted to the rank of professor, and Rachel Cope was granted continuing faculty status and promotion to the rank of associate professor of Church history and doctrine.

Lincoln H. Blumell and Tyler J. Griffin were granted continuing faculty status and promotion to the rank of associate and associate teaching professor of ancient scripture respectively.

In the summer of 2016, Lincoln H. Blumell and Eric D. Huntsman were elected to serve for three years as representatives of Religious Education to the Faculty Advisory Council.

Joining the Department of Ancient Scripture are George A. Pierce, Hank Smith, Brad Wilcox, and visiting professors Jason Combs and Joseph Spencer. Joining the Department of Church History and Doctrine are Casey Paul Griffiths and Byran Korth.

Marshall Morrise joined the staff as a web and systems administrator.

Garrett Rose was appointed LDS Philanthropies donor liaison for Religious Education, the Maxwell Institute, Student Life, and Athletics.

Beverly Yellowhorse became the Faculty Support Center Supervisor.

Awards and Honors

At the Religious Education Spring Social in March 2016, Guy L. Dorius received the Robert J. Matthews Excellence in Teaching Award. Dorius challenges students to understand and apply gospel principles related to eternal marriage. His research and writing are motivated principally by his desires to improve his teaching and provide answers to students’ questions. For example, Dorius has visited Church historical sites in New York and Kirtland eight times since 1998 to enhance classroom discussions for Doctrine and Covenants classes. Several years ago, Dorius played a major role in improving the pedagogy of transfer faculty and the content they taught in the classroom.

David M. Whitchurch received the B. West Belnap Excellence in Citizenship Award. Since joining the faculty of the Department of Ancient Scripture in 1998, David has provided selfless service and leadership in Religious Education. He has filled three demanding assignments at the BYU Jerusalem Center. He also has served as a member or chair of numerous university, college, and department committees, including the Sperry Symposium committee, the university’s Pre-Dental Interview Committee, the College Curriculum Committee, and the Rank and Status Committee.

Andrew C. Skinner received the Richard Lloyd Anderson Excellence in Research Award. He is the author or coauthor of more than one hundred articles and books. As a member of the international editorial group that translated the Dead Sea Scrolls, Dr. Skinner coauthored with Dr. Dana M. Pike The Unidentified Fragments from Qumran Cave 4, an analysis of all the unidentified Hebrew and Aramaic Dead Sea Scroll texts published by Oxford Press. Amazingly, Dr. Skinner’s scholarly accomplishments were achieved while serving as department chair of Ancient Scripture, dean of Religious Education, the first executive director of the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship, associate director of the BYU Jerusalem Center, holder of the Richard L. Evans Professorship of Religious Understanding, member of the Church Correlation Evaluation Committee, and member of the Sunday School General Board.

At the Religious Education Spring Social in March 2016, the following received Harvey B. and Susan Easton Black Outstanding Publication Awards:

Jared W. Ludlow (Gospel Scholarship in Ancient Scripture) for his 2015 BYU Studies Quarterly article titled “A Narrative Approach to the Joseph Smith Translation of the Synoptic Gospels.”

Lincoln H. Blumell and Thomas A. Wayment (Academic Scholarship in Ancient Scripture) for their 2015 book, Christian Oxyrhynchus: Texts, Documents, and Sources (Second through Fourth Centuries), published by Baylor University Press.

Mark D. Ogletree (Gospel Scholarship in Church History and Doctrine) for his 2015 book published by Covenant Communications, titled Just Married: Nurturing a Healthy, Happy and Eternal Marriage.

Mauro Properzi (Academic Scholarship in Church History and Doctrine) for his 2015 book published with Fairleigh Dickinson University Press, Mormonism and the Emotions: An Analysis of LDS Scriptural Texts.

Brad W. Farnsworth (ancient scripture) received the Religious Education Dean’s Award for going the extra mile in acquiring skills to be an outstanding religious educator. He is an exemplary citizen of the college, always fulfilling assignments effectively and going above and beyond the call of duty. Of particular note is his significant contribution to the semiannual prospective missionary firesides and his untiring work as chair of the Awards Committee.

Richard E. Bennett (Church history and doctrine) received the Religious Education Dean’s Award for demonstrating his deep commitment to student learning. His student-mentoring efforts over the last two decades have strengthened the academic preparation and personal conversion of undergraduate and graduate students at BYU. Two student-centered initiatives in religious education that resulted from Dr. Bennett’s vision and perseverance deserve particular commendation—the annual BYU Religious Education Student Symposium, now in its nineteenth year, and the Church history Nauvoo Summer Study program.

In August 2016, the following university awards were presented. Lincoln H. Blumell (ancient scripture) received the BYU Class of 1949 Young Faculty Award. He completed his PhD at the University of Toronto in the Department for the Study of Religion in 2009. He is editor, along with Matthew J. Grey and Andrew H. Hedges, of the book Approaching Antiquity: Joseph Smith and the Ancient World.

Tyler J. Griffin (ancient scripture) received the Loretta C. Gledhill Teaching and Learning Faculty Fellowship. He obtained a doctoral degree from Utah State University in instructional technology and has been at BYU since August 2010. He enjoys designing and developing digitally immersive products to enhance teaching and learning in the scriptures.

Devan Jensen received the President’s Appreciation Award for his work as executive editor of the Religious Studies Center. Since October 2001, he has helped increase the annual output from two books to fourteen books, two scholarly journals, a magazine, and a robust website in 2015. He has trained and supervised more than sixty students at the RSC.

Retiring

Kip Sperry (Church history and doctrine) announced plans to retire in December.

In Memoriam

Reed Amussen Benson (Ancient Scripture) passed away on 24 August 2016.

Walter D. Bowen (Church history and doctrine) passed away on 1 July 2016.