BYU Advancement Vice President Kevin J Worthen was named as the new university president on Tuesday, March 11, by President Henry B. Eyring, First Counselor in the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
The appointment will be effective May 1.
Worthen, a Utah native, served as a missionary in the Monterrrey, Mexico mission. He received his associate degree from the College of Eastern Utah in 1978, his bachelor’s degree in political science from BYU in 1979 and his Juris Doctorate from the J. Reuben Clark Law School in 1982.
After getting his JD, Worthen clerked for Judge Malcolm R. Wilkey of the U.S. Court of Appeals, as well as for Associate Supreme Court Justice Bryon R. White from 1983 to 1984. Worthen practiced law in Arizona from 1984 to 1987, for the law firm Jennings, Strouss & Salmon. He became a member of the J. Reuben Clark Law School faculty in 1987. He graduated summa cum laude with both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees.
In 2004, Worthen became the dean of the J. Reuben Clark Law School and in 2008 was appointed to be the advancement vice president of BYU. In 2010 he was called as an area seventy for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Quick Facts:
- Worthen grew up in Dragerton, Utah.
- He and his wife, Peggy, have three children.
- Worthen was a contributor to the 2005 edition of “Cohen’s Handbook of Federal Indian Law.”
- He served on the University Athletic Advisory Council from 1992 to 2000.
- Worthen gave one BYU Devotional address on July 21, 1998, called “On Knowing and Caring.”
- He has been published in the Harvard, Minnesota, Vanderbilt and North Carolina law reviews.
- He is an expert in federal Indian law.
- Worthen was awarded the Hugh W. Colton Professorship.
Information was gathered from the following sources:
