What does Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) have to do with BYU Continuing Education (CE)? The answer may actually surprise you. Harland David Sanders, also known as Colonel Sanders, began selling fried chicken during the Great Depression with a “secret recipe” he had developed. When Sanders later met Leon Weston “Pete” Harman, the two worked together to cofound the business that is today known as KFC, opening their first franchise in South Salt Lake, Utah, in 1952.
Harman was born in January 1919 into a large Latter-day Saint family, being the youngest of 14 children. Unfortunately, Harman’s mother, Grace, passed away with complications just two days after his birth. Harman’s father, David, later remarried his late wife’s sister, Caroline Hemenway, after she was widowed. Throughout her life, Caroline served in a number of callings and responsibilities in the Relief Society and Primary.
Caroline experienced many challenges in her life, including outliving all three of her husbands and seeing the death of at least two of her children. However, Caroline never let the trials she faced get in her way. Instead, she always chose to serve her family and the people around her in spite of any challenges. Leon Weston “Pete” Harman said of Caroline, “[She] had every reason to be waited on. Yet she continually served others. She never complained. She never quit. Aunt Carrie asked for so little and gave so much.”
If Caroline’s name sounds familiar, it’s because that’s the name of the building where BYU CE is located today: the Caroline Hemenway Harman Continuing Education Building at Brigham Young University, which was made possible by donations from Leon Weston “Pete” Harman, who insisted the building be named after her.
Harman had been making donations to BYU for some time, with the funds being held in a reserve account until an appropriate use could be determined. This situation changed when BYU administrators, namely then-BYU Academic Vice President Robert K. Thomas, approached Harman about directing those funds toward the construction of the Continuing Education Administration Building. The current President of the Church and then-BYU President, Dallin H. Oaks, made a summary report and recommendation for the building and brought it to the executive committee of the board of trustees.
After the construction was approved by the board of trustees, the official announcement was made at a luncheon on October 19, 1978, by Dallin H. Oaks. Construction began in 1980, with the building completed two years later on May 1, 1980, and finally dedicated on April 13, 1982. The Caroline Hemenway Harman Continuing Education Center and the BYU Conference Center were officially dedicated by President Gordon B. Hinckley, who had been called as an additional counselor to President Spencer W. Kimball.
The Harman Building was in operation for 34 years until June 2016, when construction began for new additions to the building. After two and a half years of construction, the Harman Building was rededicated by Elder Ulisses Soares of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and now stands at 142,693 square feet.