Brothers and sisters, aloha! I'm so grateful that we're here together. I'm grateful to each of you and the opportunity we have to work here. I'm very grateful to have Bishop and Sister Caussé with us and thank them for their devoted service and Christlike example. Bishop Caussé sits on our Board and has been a great strength and support as we move forward and try to find the right path to follow revelation and lift the university. Kevin just updated us on some incredible things; truly miraculous and evidence of the steady upward trajectory that this university is on and that the Lord has in store for us. I'm grateful also to Isaiah for the update on Iosepa. Hopefully, we can put that video online for people to watch. Just to help you understand, there are nearly 3,000 hours of volunteer work put in, at least significantly supported by BYU–Hawaii faculty and students, just to prepare Iosepa to sail, and it sailed. The sail was wildly successful, in particular in setting a tone for the spirit, and a vehicle for people to understand the Polynesian Cultural Center, BYU–Hawaii, and the Church; and Iosepa and its crew represented us extremely well with dignitaries from all over the Pacific. It was a beautiful, beautiful success. After many years of pondering and seeking a path forward with Iosepa, we anticipate that this will not be a once-a-decade event. We anticipate it will be frequent, and we're working hard with the Board of Trustees to finalize a plan for regular sails by Iosepa.
I'm grateful you had a chance to hear from Scott Stiles, our new Chief of Staff. As you saw, he's an exceptional graduate of BYU–Hawaii. He has executive-level experience with international business and employment in our target area. He's decorated for his entrepreneurial expertise and his strategic execution. But most importantly, he has a clear understanding of and a commitment to the gospel of Jesus Christ and the prophetic mission of this university. I encourage each of you to fully engage with the customer experience projects that will continue and that will be central to our improvement efforts. I want you to know that Scott has the full support of the President's Council in these efforts, and we look forward to your full and enthusiastic participation in developing and implementing solutions that will make us better. I also want to specifically commend our Operations Vice President, Kevin Schlag, and his team. The design that you just saw is the result of years of work. It's the result of listening to and hearing, and understanding feedback from thousands of meetings and from all of you, and then crafting that within the constraints that we have both financially and with design and permitting processes, and for us to be at this point to have permits submitted is truly a miracle, and it's really an exciting opportunity.
As you can see, the Church is investing significantly in the future of this university. I've been reminded frequently that BYU–Hawaii might be the second-largest capital project in the Church. Am I okay to say that? After the Salt Lake Temple. So when you think about what that commitment means, all right, it's incredible. It's vital that we honor the Lord's trust in us by continually striving to improve the way we fulfill our mission. Another important milestone this year was the approval of BYU–Hawaii as a member of the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities. This means that we are now accredited through NWCCU. This achievement came in a very short period of time and is the result of considerable effort left by our former Associate Academic Vice President, Rose Ram. In June, I joined Rose and Isaiah Walker for an in-person meeting in Seattle with the NWCCU leadership and commissioners. It was our final interview to determine whether we would be admitted and accredited. During that meeting, we sat in front of about 30 people and we answered their questions. They asked us questions about our university's mission, our actions to align with it, and how those efforts have been going. In the end, our application, our interview, and the discussions we had in that interview were met with high praise. We're deeply grateful to Rose, to Jim Tueller, and everyone else whose hands were involved in this accreditation application and process. You positioned us for a much more successful future. We love you. We're thankful for your efforts.
I'm also delighted to announce that we've officially added our Chief Information Officer, Arlene Sewell, to the President's Council. Arlene is a great leader with valuable insights that reach across the university and also into those areas of the Church that we've been asked to serve. We're delighted that she's accepted this invitation because it comes with more work and the same pay—that seems to be a theme at times. But we know that she'll provide important contributions and perspectives as she joins us on the President's Council.
So, those are some wonderful progress that we've made. A few weeks ago, I participated in the Church Educational System leadership advance. Many would call this meeting a retreat, but several years ago, President Holland made it clear to us that we do not retreat, we advance. And he renamed it the CES advance. It's a very President Holland thing to do. During this advance, CES Presidents gathered with Elder D. Todd Christofferson, Elder Ronald A. Rasband, Elder Patrick Kearon, Elder Michael T. Ringwood, Relief Society General President Camille N. Johnson, and CES Commissioner Elder Cark G. Gilbert. We spent several hours reporting on each university, discussing key strategic objectives for each university as well as issues that we all face in higher education and in the Church, particularly. We explored our strategic objectives for each university, gave each other feedback, and looked at the path forward. The council was revolutionary. As the discussions continued throughout the day, I made notes. I want to share with you a few important observations that I made and impressions that I received about our future.
First, it is essential that we continue and intensify our focus on developing students as lifelong disciples of Jesus Christ. Making and honoring covenants with God in his church will provide our students with great protection, confidence, freedom, peace, and joy. Setting a positive example, teaching, and encouraging them on this path is the most important thing we can do for our students during their time here at BYU–Hawaii. Every one of us has the capacity to do that in our roles.
Second, I was reminded of the tremendous financial investment the Church makes in BYU–Hawaii. In our CES administrative meetings, we often look at the cost per graduate within the Church Educational System. You know enough about the prices of housing, groceries, and energy here in Laie to know that that comparison is not favorable for BYU–Hawaii. In fact, BYU Pathway worldwide is a miracle that is disrupting other models of higher education and making education available to Latter-day Saints nearly everywhere that the Church has established, with incredibly low cost. It's a blessing for tens of thousands of lives, and it's vital for us to recognize the significant role that BYU Pathway will play in the future of the Lord's kingdom. That being said, BYU–Hawaii provides an incredible opportunity for gathering, spiritual development, and leadership training that simply cannot be matched in a remote setting.
We have a special role in the Church Educational System and in building the kingdom of God. We need to strive to be worthy of this investment. Positioning BYU–Hawaii to support and extend the efforts of BYU Pathway to support our church colleges and to be well and complementarily integrated into the Church Educational System is vital. It's my expectation, as well as the expectation of our Board of Trustees, that we will embrace the change necessary to accommodate students from our pathway programs and facilitate a meaningful capstone experience of spiritual and academic growth here at BYU–Hawaii. This is going to require significant adjustments to the way we recruit, admit, and even our curriculum. The necessity of these changes has been made clear to me by the spirit and been confirmed by Apostles of the Lord.
It's also vital that we significantly elevate the spiritual and academic and career outcomes of our students. We have to ensure that the things they learn here, the experiences they have lead to leadership experiences in Asia, Asia North, Pacific, and Philippines areas of the Church. The Board of Trustees and I expect that every part of the university will contribute to developing and implementing solutions that will improve career placement for our students.
Third, Elder Christofferson made it clear that as well as things are going for the Church Education System and for us at BYU–Hawaii. As exciting as our great successes are and as the large investment in our future is, we have to be humble. We need to remember this is the Lord's work, that He leads it and He guides its success. We need to remember the blessing and privilege that it is to be part of His work. We have to recognize the special time that we're involved. A time when His Church has the capacity to invest and grow in such amazing ways.
Finally, President Johnson highlighted the importance of expressing and sharing the joy we receive from living the gospel of Jesus Christ. I know that the gospel brings great joy. You do too, and like you, I've watched thousands of students pass through this campus, and I have seen the joy they receive when they commit their lives to Jesus Christ. I've seen the blessings and success and the resilience that comes from them faithfully keeping their covenants. We can help them do better by showing them the joy that we feel in the gospel.
In closing, I challenge each of you to recognize the blessing that it is to be part of this work. I challenge you to commit to use your personal knowledge, experience, and revelation to help the university change for the future. To strive to be a blessing to our students through what you teach, both in your words and your example, and to openly show the joy that living the gospel of Jesus Christ brings to your life. I share with you my personal resolve and my commitment to also be better in these areas. Finally, I share my testimony with you that we are truly doing the Lord's work. I testify that our leaders are prophets, seers, and revelators. I testify to you that when we focus on living the gospel of Jesus Christ that we will receive revelation for our personal stewardship and our professional stewardship. I love you and I'm grateful for the chance to serve with you. I share this with you in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.