The Board of Trustees of Brigham Young University has appointed C. Shane Reese as the university’s 14th president. Reese will succeed Kevin J Worthen, who has served as president since 2014.
Elder Jeffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints made the announcement during a BYU devotional in Provo, Utah.
"BYU is a light to the world and the flagship of our Church Educational System,” Elder Holland said. “We are so grateful for President Worthen's nine years of dedicated leadership. He has shown an unwavering commitment to the university's mission. His Inspiring Learning Initiative has elevated undergraduate mentoring in ways that will forever bless a generation of student scholars.”
"We are also so pleased with this new assignment for President Reese,” added Elder Holland. “The Lord has prepared him in profound ways. He has the confidence and trust of the Church Board of Education to lead BYU at this critical time."
Reese has been serving as the academic vice president at BYU since 2019. He previously served as dean of the College of Physical and Mathematical Sciences from 2017-2019 and joined the BYU statistics faculty in 2001.
“I’m honored and humbled by the opportunity to serve as the president of Brigham Young University,” said Reese. “Wendy and I express our deep gratitude for the exemplary service of Kevin and Peggy Worthen. We love the mission of BYU and look forward to passionately pursuing that mission with our students, faculty and staff.”
Elder Holland praised both President and Sister Worthen for their remarkable service. During his tenure, Worthen elevated the mission of the university and worked closely with the Board of Trustees to strengthen BYU’s spiritual focus. He established the Inspiring Learning Initiative, which has provided mentored research experiences, expanded internships, study abroad opportunities and other experiential learning occasions for thousands of students.
Additionally, he helped navigate a period of independence for BYU’s football team and membership in the West Coast Conference (WCC) for other athletic programs before ultimately earning admission into the Big 12 Conference. He also significantly expanded the infrastructure of the university, including the Westview Building, Music Building, Basketball Annex, Life Sciences Building and Engineering Building.
“Serving as the president of BYU has been a wonderful experience,” said Worthen. “I’m grateful for the opportunity I have had to work with such remarkable faculty, staff and students, and I look forward to the accelerated progress that will occur under President Reese’s leadership.”
Reese will assume his new role on May 1, 2023. An inauguration will be planned and announced at a future date.
BYU is a private university sponsored by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The mission of the university — founded, supported and guided by the Church of Jesus Christ — is to assist individuals in their quest for perfection and eternal life. The university currently enrolls approximately 35,000 students.
About Christopher Shane Reese
C. Shane Reese earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in statistics from BYU and a doctoral degree in statistics from Texas A&M. His research has focused on sports analytics, Bayesian hierarchical models and optimal experimental design. He is an elected fellow of the American Statistical Laboratory.
Reese has used his work in solving problems in professional sports franchises, national security and business. At BYU, he received the BYU Young Scholar Award and the BYU Karl G. Maeser Excellence in Teaching Award. He was also the Melvin W. Carter Professor of Statistics. Prior to BYU, he worked at the Los Alamos National Laboratory as a technical staff member.
He served a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Taiwan Taipei Mission from 1990-1992. He is currently serving as the first counselor in the Mapleton Utah North Stake, where he previously served as a bishop. He and his wife, Wendy Wood Reese, are the parents of three children.
