PRESS RELEASE:
Kevin J Worthen will be inaugurated as BYU’s 13th president during a devotional assembly on Tuesday, September 9, at 11 a.m., in the Marriott Center.
The inauguration ceremony will feature remarks from officials at BYU and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. More details about the ceremony will be provided as they are confirmed.
Worthen succeeds Cecil O. Samuelson, who served as BYU president for 11 years. While Worthen officially began his tenure as president of the university on May 1, 2014, this inauguration is a chance for the greater campus community to come together to celebrate this milestone at BYU.
Prior to his new role, Worthen served as BYU’s advancement vice president. Before that he was the dean of the J. Reuben Clark Law School at BYU. He is the Hugh W. Colton Professor of Law at BYU and has particular expertise in federal Indian law. He is a former Fulbright scholar and clerked for Justice Byron R. White of the U.S. Supreme Court and Judge Malcolm R. Wilkey of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit Court. He also has been an associate attorney for Jennings, Strouss & Salmon in Phoenix.
A native of Carbon County, Utah, Worthen earned an associate degree from the College of Eastern Utah, where he was co-captain of the varsity basketball team. While at CEU, he also worked during the summer months as an underground coal miner in the Plateau Mine in Wattis, Utah.
Worthen earned his bachelor’s and juris doctor degrees from BYU. He is currently serving as an Area Seventy of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He and his wife, Peggy Sealey Worthen, have three children and one grandchild.
