founder president professor of Chinese History
Hyer received his Bachelor in history from Brigham Young University in 1951, followed by an Master of Arts in Asian history and Asian Social Institutions from the University of California, Berkeley in 1953 and a Doctor of Philosophy in Asian History, also from University of California Berkeley, in 1961.
During World World War II Hyer served in the United States military in the Pacific Theatre. As a young man Hyer served as an Latter- Day Saints (Mormons) missionary in the Japanese mission located in Hawaii from 1946-1948. While in Hawaii Hyer set up a system to train missionaries in the Japanese language in an organized manner.
Hyer also wrote Mongolia"s Culture and Society with Sechin.
Besides his long period as a professor at Brigham Young University, Hyer also taught for three years in China. From 1988 to 1990 he served as president of the Taipei Taiwan Temple.
During the time between these two positions in Taiwan, Hyer served as bishop of a Brigham Young University ward. Harriet died on July 2, 1990, while she was serving as matron of the Taiwan Taipei Temple.
He was remarried to Karen Emily Claus, also a professor at Brigham Young University, who taught Business Ethics and Public Administration at the Marriott School of Management.