Ernest L. Wilkinson

Ernest L. Wilkinson

Wilkinson pictured in The Banyan 1952, BYU yearbook
President of Brigham Young University
Term 1951 – 1971
Predecessor Howard S. McDonald
Successor Dallin H. Oaks
Born May 4, 1899(1899-05-04)
Ogden, Utah
Died April 6, 1978(1978-04-06) (aged 78)
Salt Lake City, Utah

Ernest Leroy Wilkinson (May 4, 1899 – April 6, 1978) was an American academic administrator and prominent figure in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). He was president of Brigham Young University (BYU) from 1951 to 1971 and also oversaw the entire LDS Church Educational System. Prior to this, Wilkinson was a lawyer in Washington, D.C. and New York.

Contents

Biography

Wilkinson was born in Ogden, Utah. He graduated from Weber Academy in Ogden in 1917. He was then a student at Weber College, which was the same school now having expanded to offer collegiate level courses. After a year at Weber College Wilkinson became a member of the Student Army Training Core unit located at BYU.[1] After the war he became a regular student at BYU and among other things served as the editor of the weekly newspaper. He earned his bachelor of arts degree at BYU in 1921.[2]

At graduation Wilkinson began teaching at Weber College. He married Alice Valera Ludlow, a native of Spanish Fork who he had met while they were both students at BYU, in the Salt Lake Temple on 16 August 1923. The ceremony was performed by James E. Talmage.[3] Ernest and Alice would have five children. Among other subjects, Alice had studied drama at BYU, which lead to T. Earl Pardoe stating she was his most talented student up to that time.[4]

Also in 1923 Wilkinson was involved with the campaign of William H. King for United States Senate. He then earned a law degree from George Washington University and a doctorate from Harvard Law School in 1927.[5][6]

While in law school Wilkinson taught high school in Washington, D.C. He also was for a time on the faculty of the New Jersey Law School.

After working for future Supreme Court chief justice Charles Evans Hughes,[5] Wilkinson served as attorney for the Ute Indian Tribes in their suit to be compensated for land never paid for by the U.S. government as part of the Treaty of 1880. In 1950 this suit was upheld by the United States Court of Claims and as a result, the Ute tribes were awarded $32 million.[7][8]

When Wilkinson came to BYU he replaced the interim administration of Christen Jensen. Under Wilkinson's administration, BYU expanded in all ways. The number of students increased from 5,000 to 25,000.[9] He instituted aggressive recruiting methods where faculty would accompany general authorities on visits to stake conferences and tours of missions. This changed BYU from having a student body mainly from Utah to having a student body from virtually every state in the nation. Under his administration the number of buildings on campus grew tremendously. BYU also for the first time granted Ph.D.s. Wilkinson considered the most important accomplishment of his term as president to have been the organization of student wards and stakes.

Wilkinson was the ninth Commissioner of Church Education of the LDS Church. During his tenure, he also bore the title "Administrator–Chancellor of the Unified Church Schools System".

In 1964, Wilkinson won the Republican Party nomination for the United States Senate, defeating Sherman P. Lloyd. Wilkinson lost in the general election to incumbent Senator Frank Moss.

On April 21, 1966, Wilkinson gave an address to the student body of BYU, entitled "The Changing Nature of American Government from a Constitutional Republic to a Welfare State." This was published in booklet form by Deseret Book Company.

Wilkinson has left a somewhat mixed legacy at BYU. While many BYU alum and faculty have praised Wilkinson's groundbreaking building and expansion projects, others have criticized what they see as his excessive meddling in political affairs. At one point, Wilkinson actually went so far as to organize a student spy ring to expose supposed "pro-communist" professors in the faculty. When word of Wilkinson's espionage efforts reached the general public, it elicited an investigation by LDS General Authorities N. Eldon Tanner and Harold B. Lee which eventually resulted in Wilkinson's early retirement.[10]

Notes

  1. ^ Ernest L. Wilkinson, ed., Brigham Young University: The First 100 years (Provo: BYU Press, 1975) Vol. 2, p. 510-511
  2. ^ Wilkinson. BYU 1st 100, Vol. 2, p. 514
  3. ^ Wilkinson. BYU 1st 100. Vol. 2, p. 515
  4. ^ Wilkinson. BYU 1st 100. Vol. 2, p. 515
  5. ^ a b Richard E. Bennett. "Ernest L. Wilkinson" in Arnold K. Garr, et al, eds., Encyclopedia of Latter-day Saint History (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 2000) p. 1344-1346
  6. ^ BYU Magazine Fall 1999
  7. ^ Wilson Rockwell (1956). The Utes, a Forgotten People, p. 252
  8. ^ The case was "Confederated Bands of Ute Indians v. United States, 117 Ct.Cl. 433 (1950)". "402 US 159 United States v. Southern Ute Tribe or Band of Indians". Open Jurist. http://openjurist.org/402/us/159/united-states-v-southern-ute-tribe-or-band-of-indians. Retrieved 2010-03-15. 
  9. ^ Bennett, Richard E. "Brigham Young University" in Arnold K. Garr, et. al, eds., Encyclopedia of Latter-day Saint History. (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 2000) p. 136
  10. ^ Ernest L. Wilkinson and the 1966 BYU Spy Ring: A Response to D. Michael Quinn.

Sources

External links

Academic offices
Preceded by
Howard S. McDonald		 President of BYU
1951–1971		 Succeeded by
Dallin H. Oaks
Commissioners of Church Education of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Maeser (1888–1901) • Tanner (1901–1905) • Cummings (1905–1920) • McKay (1920–1921) • Widtsoe (1921–1924) • Merrill (1928–1933) • Widtsoe (1934–1936) • West (1936–1953) • Wilkinson (1953–1970) • Maxwell (1970–1976) • Holland (1976–1980) • Eyring (1980–1986) • Cameron (1986–1989) • Eyring (1992–2004) • Kerr (2004–2008) • Johnson (2008– )