President David O. McKay would be honored that the new events center on the campus of Utah Valley State College carries his name, President Gordon B. Hinckley said Monday, April 22, prior to dedicating the building.

"He had a deep penetrating interest in everything pertaining to education," President Hinckley said of the ninth president of the Church and the prophet who called him to be a General Authority in 1958."He began his professional life as a teacher. He loved the classroom. He loved the arts. He loved sports. He loved to win. He witnessed with enthusiasm the development of young men and women."

The dedication ceremony was dominated by tributes to President McKay. The name for the events center was selected in response to the request of an anonymous multimillion-dollar donor.

Kerry D. Romesburg, president of UVSC, said the name of David O. McKay represents the values in education and personal life it is hoped the college exemplifies. He recited a quote from President McKay: "Education is America's most precious asset, her greatest safeguard, her most important, most potentially profitable enterprise."

Also paying tribute to President McKay was a grandson, Alan Ashton, representing the McKay family.

President Hinckley addressed an audience of about 3,000 in the utilitarian main arena of the $30 million David O. McKay Events Center. Those in attendance then listened reverently as he offered a dedicatory prayer.

After the prayer, the UVSC Philharmonic Orchestra and combined UVSC and Utah Valley choirs performed "Battle Hymn of the Republic," drawing an extended ovation from the audience.

President Hinckley was accompanied by his wife, Sister Marjorie Hinckley, and by President Thomas S. Monson, first counselor in the First Presidency, and his wife, Sister Frances Monson.

The events center, a joint effort of Utah Valley State College and Utah County, is designed for multiple uses. The massive ceiling is dark, giving way to yellow and green seating and a bare concrete floor. The arena will seat a maximum of approximately 8,000 people. Pres. Romesburg said that when the portable seating in the lower bowl is retracted, the arena has the largest floor area of any facility of its type in Utah.

Because of its design, the building can be used not only for basketball and other sporting events, but also for rodeos, circuses, concerts, trade shows, commencements, seminars and other activities.

In his remarks, President Hinckley spoke of the personal relationship he had with President McKay and of the trust, confidence and opportunities President McKay extended to him.

"No one could be in President McKay's presence for long without being impressed with the remarkable strength of his personality," President Hinckley said. "He was a giant among men, impressive in appearance and noble in character; a true prince. As I worked under his direction on a number of projects, I constantly marveled at the depth of his insight, at the breadth of his understanding, of his great powers of expression, and of this untiring pursuit of his objectives."

Calling President McKay a true disciple of Jesus of Nazareth, President Hinckley said: "Without selfish consideration, he consecrated his time to the service of his Lord and Master, and in bringing hope, renewal and faith to all with whom he mingled."

President Hinckley encouraged those who in the future use the building as participants and spectators at various events to remember the character of President McKay, "a man whose unusual and remarkable qualities each could emulate to his or her own great good."

In the dedicatory prayer, he asked: "May the activities that occur here be wholesome in their nature and in harmony with the ideals of the man whose name it bears."

He also prayed that the building be a place of refuge from the stress of the day for students, "a place of joyful gathering, of growth, of rigorous competition, and of refreshment to those who become weary in the pursuit of their studies."

Brother Ashton, a member of the UVSC board of trustees, spoke for the family as he shared his feelings as a grandson of President McKay. He said, "My hope is that as people see this building from the freeway nearby or while here on campus, and as they attend activities within, that they might think of the high moral and educational values for which David O. McKay was so well known."

He talked about a time when Preston Nibley, assistant historian for the Church, told President McKay that people around the world spoke well of him and loved him and that he never heard an unkind word spoken about President McKay. "President McKay was silent for a moment," Brother Ashton related, "and then he replied, `You know what that makes me think? That makes me think that I should be more humble.'

"In his humility, his love was unconditional toward all. And universally, he was loved by all, by members and non-members alike."