Brigham Young University's Board of Trustees has named Eric B. Shumway president of the BYU-Hawaii campus.
Shumway replaces Alton L. Wade, who was chosen in February to fill the student life vice president position at BYU's main campus.The changes will become effective during the summer, according to BYU President Rex E. Lee, to whom the BYU-Hawaii president answers.
"What a great blessing it is for Brigham Young University to have Eric Shumway as the eighth president of BYU-Hawaii," said Lee. "He is profoundly committed to the principles of BYU and its sponsoring church. He is also an outstanding teacher and scholar and has had a wealth of experience as a vice president and in other administrative positions at BYU-Hawaii. I congratulate him and Carolyn and welcome him to this new position, and I look forward to our continued association as we build a better BYU on both sides of the Pacific Ocean."
Shumway has a long record of service to BYU-Hawaii and in-depth experience with Polynesian language and culture. He has been vice president for academics in Hawaii since 1980 with a three-year break to serve as president of the Tongan Mission of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which owns both campuses.
A professor of English with specialties in 19th-century British literature and Tongan language and culture, Shumway began his academic career in 1966 as an instructor at the Church College of Hawaii, the forerunner to BYU-Hawaii. He took a leave there to work as a Tongan language coordinator for a training project with the Peace Corps at the University of Hawaii.
Shumway earned his doctorate at the University of Virginia and was a graduate instructor there before returning to BYU-Hawaii. He has been active there, chairing the Faculty Advisory Committee, the University Needs Assessment Com-mit-tee and the Academic Plan-ning Council.
He has served as president and as a member of the board of directors of the Laie Community Association. He also chaired the executive committee of the board of directors and was acting president of the Polynesian Cultural Center in Laie.
Shumway has published many articles on Polynesian history and culture. He translated and edited "Tongan Saints: Legacy of Faith," published by the Institute for Polynesian Studies in 1991.
Born in Holbrook and raised in St. John's, Ariz., Shumway and his wife Carolyn have seven children.
In addition to serving as president of the Tongan Mission, Shumway was first counselor in the Hawaii Honolulu Mission presidency.