Work Begins on BYU Jerusalem Center

Construction workers have begun preparation on the five-acre site of the Brigham Young University Jerusalem Center, BYU President Jeffrey R. Holland has announced.

The 120,000-square-foot complex will house BYU’s Center for Near Eastern Studies and many of the university’s study abroad activities. BYU has been operating a study abroad program in Jerusalem since 1968; it also operates study abroad centers in Vienna and London.

The Jerusalem site is about a quarter mile south of the campus of Hebrew University, located on Mount Scopus.

The BYU Jerusalem Center will contain dormitory and eating facilities for approximately two hundred students and faculty, an auditorium, a library, museum, and classrooms. It is scheduled for completion in about three years. Plans for the site include preservation and enhancement of green areas around the complex.

Two university vice-presidents have been assigned by the board of trustees to supervise construction, said Henry B. Eyring, the Church’s commissioner of education. Fred A. Schwendiman was appointed project director. Robert J. Smith was appointed comptroller.