Michael K. Young

Michael Kent Young (born November 4, 1949)^[1] is an American lawyer. He served as the 25th president of Texas A&M University from 2015 to 2020, as the 31st president of the University of Washington from 2011 to 2015, as the 14th president of the University of Utah from 2004 to 2011, and as dean of the George Washington University Law School from 1998 to 2004.^[2][3]

Young was born and raised in Sacramento, California. He received a Bachelor of Arts with majors in political science and Japanese from Brigham Young University in 1973 and a Juris Doctor from Harvard Law School in 1976.^[2][4]

After law school, his judicial clerkships, and positions at two law firms, Young joined the United States Department of State and served as Deputy Legal Adviser, Deputy Under Secretary for Economic and Agricultural Affairs, and Ambassador for Trade and Environmental Affairs in the Bush administration.^[2] Among many other international agreements, Young worked on treaties related to German unification, as well as the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and Uruguay Round negotiations leading to the World Trade Organization and Earth Summit.^[5]

Following his work at the United States Department of State, Young became a professor and administrator at Columbia University from 1994 to 1998 and at George Washington University from 1998 to 2004.^[2] His academic positions included serving as Fuyo Professor of Japanese Law and Legal Institutions and Director of the Columbia Law School Center for Japanese Legal Studies, and as Dean and Lobingier Professor of Comparative Law and Jurisprudence at George Washington University Law School.^[6]

Young served as the 14th president of the University of Utah from August 2004^[6] to May 2011.^[7] He served as the 31rd president of the University of Washington from July 2011 to April 2015.^[8][9]

Young became president of Texas A&M University in May 2015.^[10]

On June 24, 2020, 21-year-old Texas A&M's senior student Isaiah Martin reported finding racist notes on his car at Texas A&M University. On June 25, Young published a statement, condemning such acts as irreconcilable with the institution's values and warning that those responsible would face sanctions under the student-conduct code. Young offered a $1,200 reward for information leading to the perpetrators and authorized the release of surveillance footage, photographs, and audio recordings from the vicinity of Martin’s vehicle.^[11][12] After reviewing these materials, investigators at the Texas A&M University Police Department determined that the complainant Isaiah Martin was the only person present around the car long enough to have placed the notes himself and closed the case on July 10.^[13]

Young announced his intention to retire from the presidency of Texas A&M University on September 2, 2020 to be effective in May 2021.^[14] In November, it was announced the resignation would take effect earlier on December 31, 2020. Young expressed his desire to join the Bush School of Government and Public Service at the Texas A&M University, where he would become the first director of the Institute for Religious Liberties and International Affairs.^[3]

Young served on the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom from 1998 to 2005, including twice serving as its chair.^[6][15][2]

He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations^[16] and a fellow of the American Bar Foundation.^[17]

He served as president of the New York Stake of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1985 to 1989.^[18]

Young married fellow BYU alumna Suzan Stewart in 1972, whom he met during her freshman year while dating her roommate, and they are the parents of three children.^[19] They divorced in 2010.

On June 3, 2011, he married Marti Denkers (Young).^[20] Young's relationship with Denkers was the subject of some controversy: Denkers was a student at the University of Utah during the time Young presided over it,^[21] and she was formerly married to Steve Denkers, a member of the wealthy Eccles family that has given hundreds of millions of dollars to the University of Utah over the years.^[22]

• Royal House of Portugal: Knight of the Order of Saint Michael of the Wing (2007)^[23]

• List of law clerks of the Supreme Court of the United States (Seat 9)

• Media related to Michael K. Young at Wikimedia Commons
• Jon, Marmor (June 2011). "The Challenge of a Lifetime" (PDF). Columns Magazine: The University of Washington Alumni Magazine. 30 (6). Seattle, WA: The University of Washington Alumni Association: 24–27. Retrieved April 17, 2015.
• Michael K. Young CV Archived 2019-03-28 at the Wayback Machine