“LDS Scene,” Ensign, July 1981, 80
LDS Scene
President Kimball received a heart pacemaker on Saturday, May 16, fitting the minor operation into his schedule between performing the wedding ceremony of a granddaughter and eating a “hearty lunch.”
Surgery lasted thirty minutes. A local anesthetic was used, and President Kimball was alert and talking to the surgeons throughout the operation. The pacemaker was implanted by Dr. Russell M. Nelson, who had performed open-heart surgery on President Kimball nine years ago.
The pacemaker was inserted into a pocket of tissue in President Kimball’s chest. It emits an electrical signal that helps regulate the heart rate.
Within twenty-four hours after the operation, President Kimball was up walking around and experiencing no pain. Dr. Ernest L. Wilkinson, President Kimball’s personal physician, noted, “President Kimball has a history of heart disease, and the implantation of the pacemaker is simply a precautionary measure to improve the function of the heart.”
In May, BYU awarded degrees to 2,622 students from forty-nine states and thirty-one countries. Diplomas also went to 1,140 students who had completed graduation requirements in December 1980. Ricks College conferred degrees upon 1,531 graduating sophomores.
Mexico’s first lady, Carmen Romano de Lopez Portillo, visited BYU campus for a quick tour before appearing in a concert with the Mexican Philharmonic Orchestra in Salt Lake City in May. A concert pianist, she visited BYU because “this is a university that has a special interest in the arts.”
Two BYU debate teams recently beat two Wheaton College teams in the national cross-examination championship. The wins left the two BYU teams facing each other for the final round, which consequently was cancelled. “This is the first time a single school has ever closed out both positions in the semifinals of this national tournament,” said Don Black, debate team coordinator. BYU amassed the largest point total ever after entering the tournament rated third.
U.S. President Ronald Reagan has chosen Rex E. Lee, dean of BYU’s law school, as solicitor-general of the United States to replace Wade H. McCree, Jr. As solicitor-general, his duties include arguing the government’s position before the Supreme Court. He was appointed first dean of BYU’s J. Reuben Clark College of Law in 1971 and took a leave of absence in 1975 to serve in the Ford administration as assistant U.S. attorney general in charge of the civil division.