Although no one confided in him the significance of being the first LDS Church general authority appointed president of Brigham Young University, Merrill J. Bateman says he can read between the lines.
Bateman, a member of the First Quorum of the Seventy of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, answered student questions Thursday.He noted that President James E. Faust, of the church's governing First Presidency, said recently that BYU's challenge is to become an excellent secular institution without losing sight of its religious mission.
"We're an experiment - a test," said Bateman, who became BYU's president Jan. 1. "I expect a general authority is here (as president), at least for an interim time, to see that we progress down that path."
Bateman said great strides have already been made in academics, adding that BYU students are in demand at graduate schools across the country and at firms looking for employees. He said BYU is one of the top universities in the country in placing its students.
"But with that, the spiritual side of each of us is extremely important," he said. "Therefore, we want learning to take place in an environment where we can grow spiritually."
The church-owned school's dual emphasis on academics and faith was one of a wide array of topics Bateman addressed. He also dealt with the wearing of shorts on campus, admissions, diversity and the additional pressures faced by married students.
After lengthy debate and study, university officials have decided to continue to allow the wearing of knee-length shorts on campus through the summer on a probationary basis. If students comply with the knee-length standard, shorts could become a permanent fixture on campus; otherwise the privilege might be taken away, he said.
Asked by one student to define the knee-length standard to eliminate any confusion on what is expected, Bateman declined.
"I'm not going to define the knee," he said. "But what I am saying is that shorts should come to the knee. We're not going to have students kneel down so we can measure. We are more interested in the spirit of the thing."
He said officials from other universities have inquired about the companies that will be supplying the BYU Bookstore with shorts that meet the standard. They are interested in improving the look of the students on their campuses, Bateman said.
"We would like to see shorts and the dress code to be something that we just do, not something that we talk about a lot," he added later. "We don't want this to be a very high-profile issue."
On the subject of admissions, Bateman said no one is more concerned about the growing number of people denied entrance to the university than church President Gordon B. Hinckley. One positive development, Bateman said, is the church's expanded institute program.
He said members of the BYU Board of Trustees are exploring other options that will enable the church to bring the BYU experience to more people.
Questioned about the lack of diversity on campus, Bateman acknowledged that the number of minorities at BYU is relatively small. He added, however, that the university has students representing more than 100 countries, making it one of the more diverse institutions of higher learning in the United States.
Bateman said research shows that new church members in developing regions like South America and West Africa are often not prepared to attend BYU, so there is a natural lag between the diversity of church membership and the BYU student body.