This is the first in a three-part series commemorating BYU’s sesquicentennial.
When then-Dean K. Fred Skousen accepted a million-dollar check from the Marriott family—the first installment of a $15 million pledge that would brand BYU’s business school with the Marriott name—he knew it was a turning point. “I’d never seen a check for that much money,” recalls Skousen, who led BYU Marriott from 1989 to 1998.
That milestone in the school’s history is part of the larger BYU story. BYU Marriott has grown alongside the university, evolving from the Commercial College at Brigham Young Academy in 1891 into a thriving community that includes more than 73,500 living alumni worldwide,1 all while staying true to its mission of excellence and Christ-centered leadership.
As the university reflects on its last 150 years, BYU Marriott also recognizes some of the people, programs, and projects that helped the business school become what it is today.
Fueling Growth
Adopting the Marriott name was a step toward greater credibility, but even after that first significant donation, Skousen realized the school needed more financial support to strengthen its competitiveness. “To be a great business school, you need outstanding faculty, outstanding students, and relevant curriculum,” he says, “and you have to have the resources to make that happen.”
Skousen set out to increase the school’s endowment, which would then help attract better faculty by offering professorships and fellowships. He turned to BYU Marriott’s National Advisory Council (NAC), which had been created in 1966 by then-Dean Weldon J. Taylor. In 1984 the NAC members had voted to fundraise $10 million to put toward the endowment,2 and by the early 1990s, new members were required to make an annual financial commitment.3
As the endowment grew, so did the school’s influence. “We began to attract more qualified faculty,” says Skousen, who retired in 2008 after serving as BYU’s advancement vice president under BYU presidents Merrill J. Bateman—a former BYU Marriott dean—and Cecil O. Samuelson. “The new faculty came with impressive research backgrounds, and we were able to fund their projects,” Skousen says. “When your faculty publish in top journals, it helps increase your school’s reputation.”
Today, BYU Marriott boasts 82 professorships and fellowships,4 and its endowment stands at $379.2 million.5
Accommodating Students
Like Skousen, Ned C. Hill saw opportunities for growth when he assumed the role of BYU Marriott dean in 1998. The school had found a home in the Jesse Knight Building before moving into the brand-new Tanner Building in 1983. The NAC helped fund the impressive structure through a $12 million campaign.6
But after only 15 years in the Tanner Building, the school was bursting at its seams. “We needed to physically expand the business school—we were outgrowing what we had,” Hill remembers. “The very first week I became dean, I sat down and sketched out what I hoped an addition to the Tanner Building would look like.”
Hill knew BYU Marriott could serve more students, which in return would be a blessing for them, their families, and the Church. “There was a big demand for our graduates,” he says. “The world would take more of what we had to give.”
Once again, the NAC stepped up. “There were many NAC members who were eager to see us move forward as well, so they pledged money,” Hill says. “Raising $43 million to fund the addition, its upkeep, and the parking garage was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done, but I wanted to admit more students. We had so many strong applicants but not enough space.”
In 2008, President Thomas S. Monson, a BYU Marriott alumnus, dedicated the addition, which extended the building by 76,000 square feet.7 There were 2,467 business students in full-time programs at the time of the dedication,8 compared with 4,440 enrolled as of fall 2025.9
Expanding Influence
When Bateman founded the BYU Management Society in 1977, his goal was to bring together business professionals who shared a commitment to ethical leadership. Nearly 300 joined the first year, and today the organization has grown to more than 24,000 members around the world.
Rixa Oman, the organization’s executive director from 1995 to 2018, had a front-row seat for much of its growth. “People joined the Management Society because there was purpose—something they were passionate about,” she says. “Members also spent a lot of time mentoring and building genuine connections with young professionals and students. It made a difference, and I’m grateful for that shared sense of honesty and purpose.”
Business is all about connection, Oman continues, and “people would often tell me that the Management Society changed their lives. It created connections with other professionals in the Church.”
The same values that guided the Management Society also fueled other efforts to create global impact. In 1986 the Cardon International Sponsorship (CIS) program launched, offering scholarships to international graduate students who committed to return to their home countries after completing their education.
“They come to Provo with their families for two years and have a cultural experience,” Skousen explains. “When they return to their countries, they become the leaders in their businesses, in the Church, and in their families. It’s a phenomenal program.”
Since CIS’s inception, more than 300 students from 53 countries—including countries in Latin America, the Pacific Islands, Africa, Asia, and Europe—have participated in the program. Some of them have since served as mission presidents and as general authorities. “It brought really bright young people from all over the world,” Hill says. “As dean, one of my greatest satisfactions was building relationships that created a pipeline of outstanding international students.”
Cultivating Christ-Centered Leadership
During Oman’s 26 years at BYU Marriott, she worked closely with four deans, observed the school’s rankings rise, and watched its mission shift to place greater emphasis on Christlike leadership. “We showed the world that a business school could be Christ centered; it could be focused on moral, ethical behavior—on doing what’s right and doing it in a way that’s right,” Oman says.
In the years between 2000 and 2007, The Wall Street Journal ranked BYU’s MBA program as one of the top universities producing ethical graduates. When the publication retired that ranking category in 2007, BYU Marriott placed first among regional schools and second overall for ethics.10
A lot of ethical issues in business were brought to light at the time, Hill says, which made the high standards of BYU Marriott graduates even more evident. “When I met with different company leaders, they often said, ‘One of the reasons we’re recruiting from your school is because we need ethical people in our business,’” he says. “I was always proud of our students—for the good people they were, the good things they were doing, and the good homes they came from.”
Radiating Light
Skousen presided over 18 convocations in his time as dean, and he couldn’t help but notice the light in the students’ faces. “I saw the radiance as I shook their hands as they walked across the stage,” he remembers.
The light Skousen saw didn’t fade after commencement—the graduates carried it with them into their families, communities, and workplaces. “As these bright, wonderful students have gone out, they have shown superb character and work ethic. They share the light of the gospel with their companies, their communities, and their associates,” he says. “I’ve been lucky to observe over the years how BYU graduates spread light throughout the world.”
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Notes
- See BYU Marriott 2025 Annual Report, 17, marriott.byu.edu magazine/2025-annual
-report-pdf. - See Lena Harper, “50 Great Moments in NAC History,” Marriott Alumni Magazine, Summer 2017, 20, marriott.byu.edu/magazine/00000177-d68a-d374-a3ff-dfbe30bd0000/summer-2017.
- See Harper, “50 Great Moments,” 21.
- See BYU Marriott 2025 Annual Report, 21.
- See BYU Marriott 2025 Annual Report, 25.
- See Harper, “50 Great Moments,” 19.
- See Scott Taylor, “Tanner Addition Dedicated at BYU,” Archives, Church News, October 31, 2008, thechurchnews.com/2008/10/31/23231059/tanner-addition-dedicated-at-byu.
- “Student Report, Academic Year 2008–2009,” in 2008 Annual Report: BYU Marriott School of Management, Marriott Alumni Magazine, Summer 2009, 38, marriott.byu.edu/magazine/00000177-d614-dd68-a577-d73eaa970000/summer-2009.
- See BYU Marriott 2025 Annual Report, 14.
- See Ronald Alsop, “Recruiters’ Top Schools: In the Annual WSJ/Harris Interactive Survey, Two Familiar Faces and a Newcomer Head the Rankings,” in Business Schools: The Recruiters’ Picks (A Special Report), Wall Street Journal, September 17, 2007, R5.
