Michael Perkins
From College of Fine Arts and Communications
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Michael K. Perkins (1958-2003)
In 1999, Perkins was recruited to BYU by Department Chair Laurie Wilson. The following year, he was appointed as chair of the Department of Communications. His appointment came as a surprise to many of the faculty since Perkins had no tenure at BYU.
After his first year, Perkins began to gain favor in the sight of the faculty and in the eyes of the college dean, K. Newell Dayley. Together, Perkins and Dayley tackled the issue of where to house the department -- Ralph Barney's plans for a communications building had been dismissed, and the department was divided into available space in the Wilkinson Center and the Harris Fine Arts Center. Finally, it was suggested that the department be moved to the George Brimhall Building, and preparations for the move began Pratte, 39).
Reflecting on the changes being made to the department, Perkin said:
Clearly, the future is bright. The program in on the rise. There is energy and optimism throughout the unit. Nevertheless, structural challenges must be addresses so that fifteen to twenty years from now, these years of advancement will not have been in vain. (Pratte, 40)
Michael Perkins died tragically August 14, 2003 in a kayaking accident on the Salmon River in Idaho.
Bio from BYU Newsnet Services
Michael Kennon Perkins, age 45, of Provo, died August 14, 2003 in a kayaking accident on the Salmon River in Idaho.
Michael Kennon Perkins was born April 2, 1958 in Jefferson City, Missouri, the son of Kenneth Dean and Kathryn Wilson Perkins. From the age of six he grew up in Okalahoma City, where he attended high school. He then studied at Ricks College and Brigham Young University, earning a Bachelor's Degree in 1982. He earned a law degree at the University of Utah in 1986. From 1977 to 1979 he served in the Guatemala City, Guatemala Mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. He married Donnette Jo Davis in the Salt Lake Temple, August 10, 1984.
While attending law school, Michael worked as a reporter for the Deseret News, a job that was to lead him toward a career in journalism and communications. After teaching at the University of New Mexico and working as a reporter at the Albuquerque Journal, he took a job as a professor at Drake University in Iowa, where he served as the Assistant Dean of the School of Journalism and Mass Communications. In 1999 he accepted a position at Brigham Young University, where he became Chair of the Department of Communications.
A lover of the outdoors, Mike was participating in a family rafting trip when the accident occurred. He is survived by his wife, Donnette, and by his two children Nathaniel and Caitlin, his mother Kathryn Perkins, his brother Kenneth (Nancy) Perkins, and sisters Rebecca (Kent) Van Leeuwen and Julie (Scott) Perkins-Smith. He is preceded in death by his father, Kenneth Dean Perkins.
Funeral services will be held Wednesday, August 20 at 11:00 am at the Grandview South Stake Center (1122 Grand Ave., Provo). Friends may call Tuesday evening from 6:00 to 8:00 pm at Berg Mortuary (185 E. Center Street, Provo) and at the church Wednesday from 10:00 to 11:00 am.
Those who wish to contribute to the Michael K. Perkins fund, in support of higher education, should contact the Department of Communications at Brigham Young University.
References
- Somewhere Between Mount Olympus and Mount Everest, Paul Alfred Pratte, 2003.
