Since 1994, BYU has had a “Study Abroad” program in the land of Nauvoo, Illinois. After 12 years of operation - the BYU board of Trustees says no more.
No official reason was given for pulling out - but there is speculation that the old Joseph Smith Academy building may be at fault. The building, acquired in 1998, is old.
“The facility is very old, the pipes are rusty and leaking, boilers are very old and the windows have become inefficient,” Evan Ivy (BYU Study program director) said. “It is estimated that it would cost $10 million to renovate.”
Although, you might not want to listen to what Evan Ivy says, because he also says that: There is a lot of sentimental attachment to the program and facilities used in Nauvoo, Some three to four generations have come to the program and use the building.” - Um… Evan? The program is only 12 years old. Sure, Mormons tend to marry young, but not that young.
BYU professor Milton Backman was in charge of starting the program, and still hopes - in his words - it can be “resurrected”. In the meantime he says that they will keep the Joseph Smith Academy open twenty-four hours a day as they give students the colllege credis they so desperately need to graduate prior to their long flight to Salt Lake. When it is all said and done, Backman has torch in the corner of his office waiting for the special moment.
“It’s tradition, you see… When we leave, things have to burn. I don’t want to trust lightning this time.”
BYU NewsNet - BYU Says Farewell Nauvoo
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