Elder David A. Bednar, of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, will address 2,802 graduates at Brigham Young University-Idaho’s 2023 Spring Semester Commencement on Wednesday, July 19, 2023. The event will be held at 5:45 p.m. in the BYU-Idaho Center and streamed live at www.byui.edu/live/video.
The university will award 2,069 bachelor’s degrees and 830 associate degrees. Of the graduates, 1,613 are women, and 1,189 are men. Campus-based students make up 1,674 of this semester’s graduates, while 1,128 of the graduates are online students, and 1,208 of those graduating started their college careers through BYU-Pathway Worldwide.
David A. Bednar was born on June 15, 1952, in Oakland, California. He served as a full-time missionary in Southern Germany and then attended Brigham Young University, where he received a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree. He also received a doctoral degree in organizational behavior from Purdue University. After completing his education, Elder Bednar was a professor of business management at Texas Tech University and at the University of Arkansas. He then served as the president of Brigham Young University-Idaho (formerly Ricks College) from 1997 to 2004.
David A. Bednar was ordained and set apart as a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on October 7, 2004. Prior to his call to the Quorum of the Twelve, Elder Bednar served as an Area Seventy, an Area Authority Seventy, a regional representative, twice as a stake president, and as a bishop.
David A. Bednar married Susan Kae Robinson in the Salt Lake Temple on March 20, 1975, and they are the parents of three sons.
Commencement is a ticketed event, as seating will be limited. Tickets will become available beginning Monday, July 10, at www.byui.edu/tickets or the BYU-Idaho Ticket Office inside the University Store. Graduates, parents, and guests can find more information about the 2023 Spring Semester graduation events at https://www.byui.edu/graduation/graduation-events/.