New President Named at Church College of Hawaii

Just two weeks before the announcement of the new president at Brigham Young University came the announcement from the First Presidency of changes at the Church College of Hawaii (CCH).

Dr. Stephen L. Brower, who has been serving as president of the Colombia-Venezuela Mission, succeeds Dr. Owen J. Cook, who has been CCH president since 1964. President Brower assumes his duties about July 1, 1971.

When asked about the differences in secular and Church education, President Brower said, “Latter-day Saints appreciate that education grows out of the revealed truths of the restored gospel and that we don’t accept at face value the theories of men and their ways of saying, ‘This is what life is.’ As Latter-day Saints, we realize that scientific data being gathered today does fit into the revealed mode of truth as well as into the theories and modes that man with his limited perspective has been able to develop. This is the assignment of any Church educator—to provide a broader perspective of truth than is available in the secular world.”

The recently released president, Dr. Cook, told his student body, “This has been a choice and wonderful experience.

“The new Aloha Student Center and thirty-four other buildings have been planned or completed during President Cook’s tenure, and they stand as testimonies to him,” said Hal Hunter, assistant professor in sociology and anthropology.

“Of all Dr. Cook’s visible attributes, the most significant, in student eyes, would have to be his student-oriented attitudes. He is just a wonderful person,” said Esther Mabunga, a freshman from the Philippines.

Stephen L. Brower; Owen J. Cook