Brigham Young University-Idaho

See also: List of presidents of Brigham Young University-Idaho and List of Brigham Young University–Idaho buildings The original Ricks Academy building, completed in 1903 Bannock and Fremont stake academies On November 12, 1888, the LDS Church created the Bannock Stake Academy in Rexburg. [ 10 ] The precursor to BYU–Idaho, like several other colleges and universities across the mountain west, was established as a " stake academy" first, as Mormon settlers colonized the eastern Snake River Plain in the 1880s. As a stake academy, its purpose was that of a modern secondary school as public schools had not yet been established. Jacob Spori served as its first principal and remained in that role for three years. [ 10 ] As the population grew, it became necessary to divide the geographical area designated by the Church as the Bannock Stake, and the Fremont Stake was created; thus, in 1898, the school was renamed the Fremont Stake Academy. [ 11 ] [ 10 ] During the 1901–1902 school year, there were 165 students enrolled. [ 10 ] For boys, it taught seventh and eighth grade, a two-year high school, a two-year teaching school , and a missionary course, and for girls it taught a course in plain and needlework. [ 10 ]

The LDS Church decided to combine the Fremont, Bingham, and Teton Stakes into one educational district, and the presidency of these stakes became the Board of Education of the LDS church school. [ 10 ] Consequently, Bannock Stake Academy needed a new name, and, in 1903, the school was renamed as Ricks Academy in honor of Thomas Ricks . [ 10 ] Ricks was the president of the LDS Church's Bannock Stake at the time it was founded and the chairman of the school's first Board of Education. [ 11 ] [ 12 ] By the early twentieth century, stake academies had largely been discontinued as public schools became more established in the western United States. Ricks Academy survived as it had added a year of college work to its curriculum and in 1917 was granted state certification, which allowed graduates to teach in the state of Idaho. At that point, it was known as Ricks Normal College with George S. Romney as its first president. In 1923, it was renamed Ricks College and functioned as a two-year junior college. [ 13 ] [ 14 ] It served as a junior college for most of the remainder of the twentieth century, except for a brief period from 1948 to 1956 when it operated as a four-year institution. [ 15 ] In the 1920s and 1930s, the LDS Church began to close, or hand over, its academies to state governments because of better established public education and economic strains on the church. In 1931, a bill was introduced to the Idaho Senate to allow the Idaho Board of Education to accept Ricks College as a gift from the church in order to operate a junior college , [ 16 ] but the bill did not pass. [ 17 ] Bills handing over Ricks College to the state of Idaho were presented at three more legislative sessions, (1933, [ 18 ] [ 19 ] 1935, [ 20 ] 1937 [ 21 ] ), but all were rejected. After almost a decade of facing closure, the church decided to keep Ricks College open.

The college emerged with the support of local patrons and accreditation as a junior college by the Northwest Association of Schools and Colleges in 1936. [ 22 ] [ 23 ] The 1950s brought renewed consideration of closing the college and possibly moving it. However, church president David O. McKay decided against this course of action after a visit to the campus. [ 24 ] During the 1976 Teton Dam flood, Ricks College was used as a center for disaster relief operations. [ 25 ] By the late twentieth century, the college had become the largest private junior college in the country with over 7,500 students.

Thomas E. Ricks Memorial Gardens The campus sits on a hill overlooking the city of Rexburg and the Snake River Valley and includes nearly forty major buildings and residence halls on over 400 acres (1.6 km 2 ) . [ 32 ] Off-campus facilities include a Livestock Center and the Henry's Fork Outdoor Learning Center near Rexburg. The Teton Lodge and Quickwater Lodge near Victor, Idaho , are utilized as student leadership and service centers. The main campus includes a planetarium , an arboretum , and geology and wildlife museums. The college also operates several athletic fields and facilities around campus which are used to support intramural programs and the expanded student activities program that was instituted when intercollegiate sports were discontinued in 2001. Facilities include a football and track stadium, tennis courts, general use fields and the John Hart Physical Education building, which seats 4,000 in its main gym and is used for athletic events and concerts. The building also includes a large fitness center, a pool, auxiliary gymnasiums, racquetball courts and equipment room, all of which are open to students, faculty and staff. On December 17, 2010, the BYU–Idaho Center was dedicated and opened to students. The 435,000-square-foot (40,400 m 2 ) building contains a 15,000-seat auditorium used for the weekly campus devotional, graduation ceremonies and concerts. The building also features a multi-purpose area with 10 basketball courts and can be subdivided by drop dividers as needed. The David O. McKay Library holds a collection of over 300,000 volumes with about 142,000 transactions processed by the library's circulation services annually. [ 33 ] In support of the fine arts and entertainment, the campus also includes the Ruth H. Barrus Concert Hall which houses the acclaimed Ruffatti organ, [ 34 ] the third largest organ owned by the Church after those housed in the Salt Lake Tabernacle and Conference Center , respectively.