President C. Shane Reese, along with D. Michael Lindsay of Taylor University, addressed the campus community in a panel discussion during today's forum on faith in higher education.
The forum began by showing a clip from the series "Higher Ed: The Power of Faith-Inspired Learning," which featured both BYU and Taylor University. The video highlighted both the challenges facing faith-based universities and the value they bring to students and the broader community.
Answering questions in the panel, both presidents agreed that faith and learning complement one another and can build environments of joy and happiness.
“Faith and scholarship are mutually reinforcing principles. Study does truly amplify faith, revelation does truly lead to deeper understanding. With these guiding principles, we are able to discuss and ask and answer questions that wouldn't be possible in other university settings,” President Reese said.
By fostering humility, caring for one's neighbor, and following Jesus Christ, institutions such as BYU and Taylor University are able to answer the deeper and more difficult questions facing students of this rising generation.
"We aspire to be as Christ-centered and student-focused as we possibly can," President Lindsay shared. "That is the key to building an educational model that recruits students and draws them in."
Quoting Elder D. Todd Christofferson, President Reese shared, "We don't pursue [education] for our own personal gratification. We pursue education because we believe it is a means by which we can bless God's children."
