Thanks to early Brigham Young University educator Edwin S. Hinckley, more than 700 students have obtained an education at BYU as recipients of the prestigious Hinckley scholarship.
Thanks to Hinckley, one of the Wasatch Mountain's most majestic slopes sports a block "Y." He sponsored its construction.And thanks to Hinckley, BYU has 25 acres he inspired his students to purchase and donate.
One of BYU's most beloved teachers and administrators in the early part of this century will be honored at the school's 121st summer commencement activities, when his family accepts a presidential citation and medal. George Marion Hinckley, the youngest son and only living child of Edwin Smith and Adeline Hinckley, will represent the family.
The citation will be a part of graduation, which begins Thursday at 4 p.m. in the Marriott Center.
Hinckley was born in the frontier territory of Cove Fort, Utah, on July 21, 1868, where he lived while his father, Ira Nathaniel Hinckley, followed Brigham Young's directive to construct a fort to protect travelers on their way through Utah's Dixie.
The future educator grew up in Millard County but left as a teenager to study and receive a teaching degree at Brigham Young Academy. It was there he met and married Adeline Henry. After earning his diploma in 1891, the Hinckleys moved to Michigan where he received a bachelor of science degree in 1895.
He heeded a call by LDS authorities to return to teach at his alma matter, and Hinckley embarked on a long tenure of service as a beloved teacher and administrator.
His four years at the University of Michigan had prepared him to be a fine geologist, but the professor taught many subjects, including chemistry, physiography, domestic science, ethics, animal husbandry, soil science and religion.
Among his assignments from Academy President Benjamin Cluff was to head the newly organized Alumni Association.
In 1903, when the academy became Brigham Young University, then-President George H. Brimhall invited Hinckley to serve as one of his counselors.
In 1907, he was appointed dean of the Church Teachers College. He endeared himself to the student body so well, President Brimhall declared, "I don't think there was a man at the Y. since the days of Karl G. Maeser that was more beloved than Dean Hinckley."
After 21 years at BYU, Hinckley received an assignment from Utah officials who asked him to lead the Territorial Reform School in Ogden. Under his direction, the school became the State Industrial School. Seven years later, he returned to Provo, where the city's newly organized Chamber of Commerce invited him to be its executive secretary.
Although he never returned to teaching at BYU, Hinckley enthusiastically served a second term as president of its alumni association.
His distinguished career ended in 1929, when he died after being in a traffic accident.
The family created the Edwin S. and Adeline Hinckley scholarship in 1954 at BYU. Among its recipients are Jeffrey R. Holland, member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of the LDS Church and former president of BYU; Rex E. Lee, former president of BYU and Solicitor General of the United States; Marry Allen, doctor of English and lecturer at George Mason University and the University of Maryland; and Lloyd Newell, the voice of "Music and the Spoken Word."