As this year’s president of the Alumni Council, I would like to express a few feelings to help you get a better idea for what we want to achieve during this new millennial year.

Ricks College is headed for major change. Many of you have heard about the change to a four-year college named BYU–Idaho and the elimination of intercollegiate athletics. These are but a few of the major changes. As the vision for this college continues to unfold and work begins on making the changes, the vision of what it will become will be made clearer. This is not the first time in history of this wonderful school that it has been asked to change. The history of Ricks is replete with change. Think about how it has grown since you attended; as you would expect from an institution directed by those inspired by the spirit of Heavenly Father; it has always been for the best. Following President Hinckley’s announcement of the changes to Ricks College, you probably had many questions. I have been asked many questions and have asked a few myself. Unfortunately, the answers are not all available, but we know the "Spirit of Ricks" will live on unchanged by its future path. As the college grows, more students will come and have the opportunity to learn and feel the spirit like the thousands who have attended in the past. As a council, we have felt the uncertainties that change brings, but also the calm reassurance that comes in knowing that Ricks College has a mission to achieve and fulfill. As alumni, we have even greater goals and accomplishments to pursue.

During the course of the coming Alumni year, we want to expand our Alumni Council to areas that currently do not have representation. We are seeking volunteers to help carry the "Spirit of Ricks" into your area. Please contact the Alumni Office, and help us get an organization going in your area. You will help others renew old friendships while creating new friends through service to our alma mater—Ricks College.

We know relationships that were started at Ricks need to be continued. Some of your old classmates want to know where you are and what you are doing, and so do we. So, we are trying to update our records. The new Student Alumni Association will be helping us keep in touch with you to make sure that our information is correct.

We hope you enjoy this issue of Summit Magazine, and I want you to know that I love Ricks College and know that the Spirit of Ricks that each of us carries throughout the world does make a difference. I look forward to serving you.

Your fellow alumnus,

Dean Mortimer (74)
Alumni Council President

P.S. The Alumni Association is trying to help you know more about Ricks by publishing Summit Magazine; maintaining an informal weekly newsletter, Inside Ricks (available at InsideBYUI@byui.edu); supporting area activities sponsored by the Area Alumni Councils, and maintaining a Ricks Web page at www.byui.edu/alumni. But we need your help. Check our Web site or give us a call to learn more or to tell us more about what is going on.

Dean was named to the Alumni Council in 1997. He began serving as president of the council earlier this year and is a member of the Summit magazine advisory board..

Dean, a great-grandson of Thomas E. Ricks, founder of Ricks College, owns MD Construction and First Financial Corporation, a mortgage company, both located in Idaho Falls. He served a Church mission to France and graduated from Utah State University with a Master’s degree in business.