December 7, 2006    

Apostle to speak at BYU-Idaho fall graduation

Elder Jeffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints will speak at the Brigham Young University-Idaho fall commencement ceremony on Wednesday, December 20 at 5 p.m. in the Hart Auditorium.

Elder W. Rolfe Kerr, a member of the First Quorum of the Seventy and commissioner of the Church Education System, will also be in attendance.

Commencement seating will begin at 4:00 p.m. and the processional will begin at 4:45 p.m. In addition to commencement, separate college convocations will be held in which students' names will be read and they will receive their diploma covers.  Convocation times and locations are available online at http://www.byui.edu/Graduation/calendar-fall.htm. Tickets are required for commencement but not for the convocations.

A total of 1019 students will receive diplomas at fall commencement. Of those, 432 are males and 587 are females.  The university will award 784 bachelor's degrees and 251 associate degrees.  About half the graduates, 514, are married, and 489 have served as missionaries for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  The youngest graduate, 18-year-old Kathryn Dewald, will receive an associate degree. The oldest graduate, 54-year-old Lyle Saurey, will receive a bachelor's degree.

Elder Holland was ordained a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in 1994. At the time of this call, he was serving as a member of the First Quorum of the Seventy.  Previous to his call as a General Authority, Elder Holland served as the ninth president of Brigham Young University.  Elder Holland and his wife Patricia have three children and 11 grandchildren.  Elder Holland received a bachelor's degree in English and a master's degree in religious education from BYU. He obtained master's and doctorate degrees in American Studies from Yale University.