Skip to main content
Intellect

President Samuelson, Sharon Samuelson at Jan. 5 BYU devotional

Brigham Young University President Cecil O. Samuelson and his wife Sharon Samuelson will usher in the new semester with an opening devotional Tuesday, Jan. 5, at 11:05 a.m. in the Marriott Center.

The BYU Broadcasting channels will air the devotional live. Rebroadcast and archive information will be available at byub.org/devotionals or speeches.byu.edu.

Elder Samuelson was called in 1994 to serve The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as a member of the First Quorum of the Seventy. At the time of his assignment to BYU, he was a member of the Presidency of the Seventy.

Prior to holding these positions, President Samuelson worked as a professor of medicine and dean of the School of Medicine at the University of Utah and was senior vice president of Intermountain Healthcare.

He has a bachelor of science degree, a master's degree in educational psychology and a medical degree from the University of Utah.

Sharon Giauque Samuelson graduated from the University of Utah with honors in history. She has held leadership positions in all of the auxiliary organizations of the Church while raising a family and being active in the community.

Writer: Brandon Garrett

Samuelsons.jpg
Photo by Jaren S. Wilkey/BYU Photo

Related Articles

data-content-type="article"

Treating addiction with immunotherapy: BYU study links alcohol use and the immune system

January 15, 2026
A new interdisciplinary study from BYU, opens an angle of neuroimmune research that could potentially lead to better medical treatments for individuals with alcohol use disorder. This collaborative research involved 13 students and four professors across three departments in the College of Life Sciences and the College of Family, Home, and Social Sciences.

overrideBackgroundColorOrImage= overrideTextColor= promoTextAlignment= overrideCardHideSection=false overrideCardHideByline=false overrideCardHideDescription=false overridebuttonBgColor= overrideButtonText= promoTextAlignment=
data-content-type="article"

How loud is life behind the glass? BYU study measures sound in shark tanks

January 13, 2026
Sharks at the Loveland Living Planet Aquarium in Draper, Utah, glide silently behind glass walls — but just how silent is their world? A team of BYU researchers set out to discover how much of the aquarium’s daily bustle filters into the shark tank, and whether that noise is affecting the animals who call it home.
overrideBackgroundColorOrImage= overrideTextColor= promoTextAlignment= overrideCardHideSection=false overrideCardHideByline=false overrideCardHideDescription=false overridebuttonBgColor= overrideButtonText= promoTextAlignment=
data-content-type="article"

Top 10 stories of 2025: BYU celebrates 150 years with high-impact research, national rankings and new construction

January 07, 2026
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.
overrideBackgroundColorOrImage= overrideTextColor= promoTextAlignment= overrideCardHideSection=false overrideCardHideByline=false overrideCardHideDescription=false overridebuttonBgColor= overrideButtonText= promoTextAlignment=
overrideBackgroundColorOrImage= overrideTextColor= promoTextAlignment= overrideCardHideSection=false overrideCardHideByline=false overrideCardHideDescription=false overridebuttonBgColor= overrideButtonText=