Cecil O. Samuelson began his work as the 12th president of Brigham Young University on May 1, 2003.
President Samuelson is a Salt Lake City native who has served at the University of Utah as professor of medicine, dean of the School of Medicine and vice president of health sciences. Prior to his call as a full-time General Authority of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, he was senior vice president of Intermountain Health Care. He holds a bachelor of science degree, a master's degree in educational psychology and a medical degree from the University of Utah.
Dr. Samuelson fulfilled his residency and held a fellowship in rheumatic and genetic diseases at Duke University Medical Center in Durham, North Carolina. He has received numerous scholastic honors and is the author or co-author of 48 original publications, eight books or chapters of books and 13 abstracts. He also has served as a director, officer or member of several national medical and hospital organizations.
Elder Samuelson was called in 1994 to serve the Church of Jesus Christ as a member of the First Quorum of the Seventy. On October 1, 2011, he was granted General Authority Emeritus status. At the time of his assignment to BYU, he was a member of the Presidency of the Seventy. He has served the Church of Jesus Christ also as a regional representative, stake president, stake high councilor, branch president and missionary and as an area president in the Utah North Area and the Europe North Area. He and his wife, Sharon Giauque Samuelson, have five children and 14 grandchildren.
BYU Magazine published an article in Summer 2014 about the Samuelson's legacy at BYU, "One Last Whoosh for the Samuelsons."