The most read and viewed BYU news stories of the 2025 calendar year
BYU’s Sesquicentennial year started off with great momentum as BYU’s professional programs earned high rankings and the location for the BYU School of Medicine building was announced. Alongside breaking ground on major campus projects — including a brand new Creamery on Ninth — BYU also led groundbreaking research on sugar, generative AI, and wildfires. Here are the top ten BYU news stories of 2025:
10. ‘I was that kid’: How one BYU graduate is giving back
Nay Robinson defied the odds, and her own expectations, by becoming the first in her family to get a degree—not just one, but two—at BYU. While working on her MPA, Robinson completed an internship with the nonprofit Humble Beginnings in Florida, and helped organize the very projects that she benefited from as a child. Thanks to her newfound self-confidence and the skills she developed in the classroom, Robinson is pursuing her goal of improving the world through Christlike leadership. “I want to show these kids that they have a chance,” she said. “And that there are people that believe in them.”
9. Three different approaches to BYU wildfire research
Engineering professor Rob Sowby shared his expertise on why residential water systems were never intended to fight wildfires, and plant and wildlife sciences professor Sam St. Clair discovered that large, cyclical wildfires can have positive effects on forest regeneration. St. Clair’s colleague in PWS, Phil Allen, and a team of his students partnered with Provo City to restore Rock Canyon Trailhead by replacing highly flammable and invasive cheatgrass with native wildflowers, creating a beautiful fire-resistant landscape.
8. Next chapter in BYU’s origami engineering: Student-discovered patterns unfold like blooming flowers
Mechanical Engineering student Kelvin Wang, joint with BYU professor Larry Howell and renowned origami artist-physicist Robert J Lang, discovered a new family of origami patterns that unfold like flowers. (Their discovery of ”bloom patterns” was published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society.) The folding patterns fold flat, deploy, and expand from a symmetric center, providing opportunities for both compact storage and stability. These characteristics make this discovery uniquely useful in areas like space systems, medical devices, bulletproof shields, architecture, furniture, and aerodynamics. The student-led research reflects BYU’s commitment to creativity and student-led problem-solving.
7. Newly released Carnegie Classifications designate BYU as R1 Institution
In early February 2025, BYU became an R1 research institution according to updated Carnegie Classification research designations. BYU’s move from an R2 institution to the highest designation, Research 1: Very High Spending and Doctorate Production, is a result of Carnegie Classification changes to the methodology for determining research designations, as well as a more complete reporting of BYU’s research expenditures. According to the Carnegie Classification, institutions of higher education that annually spend at least $50 million on research and development and produce at least 70 research doctorates qualify for the R1 designation.
6. Campus construction: BYU School of Medicine, new admin building, new Creamery on 9th
Campus construction is always a story at BYU, and 2025 was no different. In addition to continued progress on the new Arts Building, three construction stories caught the eye of readers: the announcement of the location of the BYU School of Medicine building, news about a new administration building, and the opening of a brand-new Creamery on 9th. The BYU SoM will be located on BYU West Campus, the site of the former Provo High School, while a new administrative building will be built on the same site where the ASB stood. The new expanded Creamery on 9th opened its doors just west of the old creamery in December and will have a formal grand opening on Jan. 12.
5. BYU study finds the real reasons why some people choose not to use AI
As generative artificial intelligence (AI) advances and the use of AI spreads, BYU professors explored why people may choose not to use it. Information Systems professors Jacob Steffen and Taylor Wells found four main common concerns: output quality, ethical implications, risk, and human connection. Whether for schoolwork, creative work, medical or financial advice, or more, these concerns were common barriers to usage. Hoping their research will help people with decision-making regarding AI, Steffen also wants to better understand the difference between those using GenAI and those who are hesitant.
4. Rethinking sugar: BYU study shows food source is key to understanding diabetes risk
While sugar is often associated with negative health outcomes and has been a leading cause of the rise of type 2 diabetes, BYU researchers found that not all sugar sources pose the same level of risk. In an effort led by BYU Nutritional Science professor Karen Della Corte, along with researchers based in German institutions, the largest and most comprehensive meta-analysis of its kind was conducted. As they analyzed this data, a new clarification emerged—how sugar is consumed (drinking vs. eating) makes a difference in how it impacts health. Sugary beverages such as juice or soda were repeatedly connected to a higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
3. Do parents really have a favorite child? Here’s what new research from BYU says
BYU School of Family Life professor Alex Jensen studied the favorable treatment that siblings receive from parents and found that some siblings did receive more favoritism— the younger siblings. His research, conducted with more than 19,000 individuals, that highlighted not only how parent preferences are manifest but also how it influences their children throughout their lives. One trait significantly influences a child receiving more favorable treatment: personality. Children who were more agreeable and responsible gained better treatment. While Jensen doesn’t want parents to be solely focused on treating their kids the same, hopefully, his findings can encourage them to see where they can improve.
2. BYU ranks ahead of Princeton, Yale with one of the top admission yield rates in the country
According to data from the National Center for Education Statistics, BYU achieved a 78 percent admission yield rate for the 2024-2025 school year, placing it No. 5 in the country and just behind Harvard and Stanford. Such a high yield rate suggests BYU as a first-choice option for admitted students, pulling ahead of big names like Princeton and Yale. While maintaining this top 5 position for the last 20 years, BYU has also jumped in its grad program rankings. With the J. Reuben Clark Law School, the BYU Marriott School of Business, and the Ira A. Fulton College of Engineering all climbing the charts. BYU professional programs land high marks, engineering makes big jump in US News grad ranks
1. BYU celebrates its 150th anniversary
October 16, 2025 marked the 150th anniversary of the founding of Brigham Young University and to celebrate, the university has organized campus wide events and service opportunities that roll all the way through the 2025-2026 academic year. For the past 150 years, BYU has focused on helping students learn and develop their own divine light. As BYU hit this monumental sesquicentennial anniversary, events and initiatives have focused on the light the university and its students can provide. From a 50-year time capsule reveal, to remarks from six Presidents of BYU, past and present, a service challenge anthem, and blowing out birthday candles, there has been a clear effort made to ensure the year was meaningfully celebrated.
BONUS STORY: Our national commercial
At the start of the 150th school year, a new national commercial encapsulated the focus behind everything done at BYU: its students. The video highlights the type of students who "Enter to learn and go forth to serve." The BYU commercial is regularly shown during major sports broadcasts on ESPN and FOX, and will continue throughout the rest of the Sesquicentennial year. President Reese emphasized that “the most important work done at BYU is building up its students intellectually and spiritually”, which this video captures in a small way.
