By Marnie Coon
marnie@newsroom.byu.edu
The 78th annual BYU Campus Education Week will offer more than 1,000 classes that provide spiritual and intellectual development.
The classes will revolve around the theme, 'Building on the Rock of Truth,' said Neil Carlile, director of Education Week.
'We wanted to emphasize the importance of the Savior and building our lives around his example and teachings,' he said.
The theme was chosen to encourage individuals to seek spiritual renewal, intellectual growth and character development to foster life-long learning and service, Carlile said.
'Each year the committee selects a particularly pertinent theme and invites professors and other educators to build their presentations upon it,' Carlile said.
Classes focus on a wide variety of topics: religion, family relations, self-improvement, values and education.
Forty-one percent of the instructors at Education Week are BYU professors, 14 percent are Church Educational Systems instructors, and 45 percent are experts and professionals from specific fields, Carlile said.
'We try to have a mix of new people teaching with people who have taught before,' he said.
Douglas Brinley, a church history professor, has taught at Education Week since 1984. He said he looks forward to teaching at Education Week each year.
'It's a chance for people to come together from all over the world in the spirit of learning important gospel principles,' Brinley said. 'People are hungry for the truths taught in the scriptures.'
Brinley is scheduled to teach a class on the Book of Mormon, focusing on the past, present and future of America.
Dr. Brent Barlow, a marriage, family, and human development professor, is teaching a class on marriage fundamentals.
'Most people come to Education Week looking for answers and ready to learn. It is an intense teaching experience for me,' Barlow said.
All instructors are cleared by the Church Educational System, Carlile said.
Carlile said that last year more than 25,000 people representing all 50 states and 19 foreign countries attended Education Week.
He said there are many different ways for people to get information about the classes offered at Education Week.
Most people hear about the events from a mailing list, word of mouth, K-BYU advertisements and the education week Web site. Notices were also sent through the church mail to all ecclesiastical leaders.