Highlights from BYU colleges: Professors commissioned for military ethics guide, Student wins art awards

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Marriott School of Business

Special Operations forces carry out training exercises. Two Brigham Young University professors were commissioned to write an ethics guide for Special Operations soldiers to refer to for making quick decisions. (U.S. Department of Defense)

Leaders of America’s Special Operations Command commissioned two Brigham Young University professors to write an ethics guide for their soldiers. Marriott School of Business professors Brad Agle and Aaron Miller published “The Business Ethics Field Guide” in 2016. Army Reserves colonel Brian Ray, regularly uses Agle and Miller’s book to teach his ethics courses and has applied it to not only business ethics but to battle models. Ray and command chaplain colonel George Youstra asked Agle and Miller to create an updated version specifically to help Navy SEALs, Green Berets and other special operators being faced with split-second ethical decisions.

“We’ve had some very experienced Special Operations Forces operators tell us that this is really important and something they have needed,” Agle said. “It’s an honor to provide it for them. There are so many ethical dilemmas faced by our forces that aren’t clear-cut and our guide is there to help.”

Agle and Miller’s military ethics guide was published in late 2020 and is now being used for training personnel from the Army, Navy, Marines and Air Force. 

“More important than finding the ‘right’ answer is how you process and work towards making the best decision while remembering all the implications that our decisions carry,” Youstra says in the forward of the new guide.


College of Fine Arts and Communications

Brigham Young University art major Myleka Bevans hangs reflective balloons as part of her “Encounters with Grief” exhibit. Bevans has won several awards for her art. (Myleka Bevans)

A senior art student’s exhibit on grief has led to many successes. “Encounters with Grief” was Myleka Bevans’ way of sharing her experience with losing her five-day-old daughter in 2016. Bevans worked on the exhibit for roughly 18 months, collecting objects including sympathy cards and stuffed animals. Bevans’ hard work paid off when she was featured by a prestigious art account, The Jealous Curator, which has never before featured a student’s work. Becoming the Utah Museum of Contemporary Art resident later this year and winning an award from the BYU student journal Inscape are just two other accolades Bevans has accumulated for the work. 

Bevans also connected with other grieving individuals who found an outlet in Bevans’ work.

“My artwork was this floodgate for these people to have an outlet for their grief,” Bevans said. “When someone you love dies, it becomes vividly clear that there are people who love you.”

Bevans will graduate from BYU with her Bachelor of Fine Arts in April.


Brigham Young University

Paul Buckner has been named the new managing director of supply and logistics for Brigham Young University. (Paul Buckner)

A new managing director of supply and logistics has been named at BYU. Paul Buckner has been employed at BYU for 12 years and most recently served as the university’s director of purchasing.

“Paul’s relevant and progressive years of experience, coupled with his enthusiastic desire to build from the great foundation in place in this division, make him an ideal person for this role,” Administration Vice President Steve Hafen said. “He will continue to actively seek operational improvements while delivering best-in-class service to the various audiences that the supply and logistics team serves across the campus.”

Buckner succeeds Tim Hill, who is retiring in March after working for the Church and for BYU for more than 40 years.


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