Bruce Kusch

Bruce C. Kusch was serving as chief academic officer of LDS Business College at the time of his appointment as president on January 31, 2017. He took office on April 17, 2017. During his administration, the name of LDS Business College was changed to Ensign College.

“There was not a directive from the First Presidency that the name should change, actually, which was a little surprising,” he told the Deseret News. “We were told initially it was not necessary. I went back and I reread President Nelson’s closing comments in the October 2018 general conference where he talked about the appropriate use of the Savior’s name in his church and I thought, ‘Well, we’re not a church. We’re affiliated with the church, but we’re not a church.’ And so, I was at peace with that.”[1]

Further consideration led him to suggest a name change. The college had programs other than business, several four-year degrees were being added, and much of the college's curriculum would be offered to students worldwide through BYU–Pathway Worldwide.

Kusch was business management professor at BYU-Idaho where he also acted as associate academic vice president for curriculum and associate dean of online programs. He is a former business executive and worked in high-tech and strategic management positions. He served on the board of directors of a software startup company and saw it through to successful acquisition.

Kusch also serves on the board of trustees for Madison Memorial Hospital in Rexburg, Idaho.

He holds a master’s degree in business administration from DeVry University and a doctorate in instructional design from Idaho State University.

He served with his wife, Alynda, as he presided over the Mexico Cuernavaca Mission of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 2012 to 2015. They are parents of four children.