BYU NewsNet - New VP assumes new responsibilities

In a spacious office with a panoramic view of main campus, a large corner desk, conference table and family pictures all around, Brian Evans kindly re-directs this visitor to a seat close to him and welcomes her to his office.

He turns toward her and leans forward as the conversation begins, paying complete attention to her questions and giving thought to his answers.

Evans recently assumed the new title of BYU administrative vice president adding the majority of the former VP's responsibilities to his current workload as chief financial officer. The rest of the responsibilities were divided among other members of the President Cecil Samuelson's council.

This year will mark six years of service at the university for Evans and three years since he was diagnosed with Meniere's disease, a disorder of the inner ear affecting balance and hearing. He has lost most of his hearing in one ear, and faces the possibility of total deafness as a result of the disease.

Some effects of this condition are vertigo attacks, dizziness and daily changes in the quality of his hearing, Evans said.

"I don't think there is any point in trying to analyze why I have this," the 50-year-old said. "It's just part of the mortal experience."

Before Elder Neal A. Maxwell died, Evans said he had been blessed with a few opportunities to interact with the apostle. Evans was always impressed by Maxwell's optimism and gratitude while he endured leukemia. He said he remembered Maxwell saying, "Why not me? Why should I not suffer?"

This resonated with Evans, and he said he refuses to play the "What if" game. He now pauses more to consider the "normal things" and to not take them for granted. Much of Evans' career was spent working for one of the then "Big Five" accounting firms in a high profile position as a partner at Arthur Andersen.

The accounting firm had such prestige that it once hosted a celebration at the famous Louvre Museum in Paris, shutting it down for an executive black tie affair, said Sharlene Evans, his wife.

But somewhere, somehow, Evans tired of the corporate lifestyle. He decided to quit the accounting firm, and left without having another job lined up, Sharlene said.

"He wanted to do something different and more meaningful; that was important to him," she said.

After considering a few other job prospects, Evans was encouraged by BYU's former president, Elder Merrill J. Bateman, to apply for a position at BYU. He started working at BYU about a year before the Enron scandal imploded the company.

Enron has been involved in one of the biggest corporate scandals in U.S. history, according to the Associated Press. Arthur Andersen was the accounting firm that represented Enron prior to the accusations. "I thought it was tragic. I was very proud to be an Andersen partner," Evans said. "I thought it was a great firm, the best firm in that industry. The people that I knew, many who were faithful Latter-day Saints and others who were not, were individuals of utmost integrity and trust."

He added: "And it was very painful to see that a small group of people could do so much damage to the reputation of one of the best and most trustworthy firms in business; it's a great lesson that you have to live with integrity."

He said he felt sad for many of the partners who had to live through the scandal when Arthur Andersen's name became a joke. Evans is not certain whether coming to BYU, when he did, was divine intervention or just dumb luck. What he is certain of is the great blessing it has been to be here at BYU.

"I think this is the most extraordinary university in the world," Evans said. "I have attended many seminars and spoken to lots of folks from different institutions who talk about the challenges they face in terms of their student body, their faculty, their staff, their physical facilities and the state of their institutions. This is an astonishing place and is a testament of the church's dedication to young people and higher education."

The differences between the corporate life he once lived and the life he now lives, as a BYU employee, is startling. One of the biggest paradigm shifts, he said, was leaving the corporate world where the standard is money and the bottom line is the preferred indicator of success, Evans said.

"When you come to a place like this, it is a real shift in terms of why you are doing things and what the purpose of your career is," Evans said. "This is a greater purpose. We have many people here that come to BYU because they believe in the mission of BYU and want to help build the kingdom."

One way Evans has tried to help build the kingdom outside of his extensive administrative duties is through teaching the second half of the Book of Mormon, Religion 122, during winter semester.

Robyn Curtis, a freshman majoring in accounting, said Evans' class helped strengthen her testimony as he encouraged all class members to share their ideas and opinions about applying the Book of Mormon stories to life, without the pretense of a "right answer."

Nathan Wiley, another student in Evans' Book of Mormon class last semester said the class requirement of writing three papers that semester prepared him for his mission, which he begins in a week.

"He made us identify the doctrines taught in the Book of Mormon, then study what the prophets and apostles had taught about the doctrine and then he had us make a personal application," Wiley said. "Those papers had the most impact on me as I discovered I could really apply the Book of Mormon to my life."

Just as Evans has helped his students be successful in understanding the Book of Mormon, his first priority is more to be a successful family man than an administrator.

"It [BYU] is a much more family-friendly environment than that of the corporate world," Evans said. "I have to say it was sometimes a challenge to come home from a trip and spend quality time with the kids. I think it is a lot easier to spend quality time when you have quantity time, in my experience."

While in the corporate world, Evans typically traveled weekly by jet and endured a two-hour commute to and from work; he now lives 10 minutes from "the office" and can go home for lunch.

Sharlene said a highlight in living here was the opportunity that her and Evans had to take their 7-year-old daughter, Emma, to her first day of kindergarten. This was something he was unable to do with his other six children.

With the Evans' six older children, Sharlene said, Evans taught their boys through working with them on several home remodeling projects. Whether it was building a new deck, draining a ditch or overhauling a basement their boys were very well prepared before leaving home on how to do home improvements.

He also tries to focus on being a successful father by teaching correct principles as a leader "hopefully enabling them to achieve great performance," he said. Evans has also tried to focus on improving the financial processes at BYU to be more efficient and fluid, a goal inspired by President Samuelson.

To help improve the communication between the central administration and the rest of campus, Evans worked to boost the profile of controllership at BYU. Comparing BYU to a micro economy, he said the visibility of a controller was a better use of resources, protection of assets and financial stewardship overall.

"My interest is trying to become better at what we do," Evans said. "We try to say to the campus, 'Let us help you and give you some tools,' hopefully enabling them to achieve greater performance."

Despite the daily challenges with Meniere's disease, Evans does not back down when faced with a greater opportunity to serve at BYU; he tries to just focus on what he does have and what he can do.

"When you are not feeling well, when you have a vertigo attack, you wish you were dead," Evans said. "Then when I'm OK I notice, look, I can hear better today, isn't that great."