Carl Hernandez

Carl Hernandez III became BYU's first vice president for belonging in June 2022.

Hernandez served on BYU’s Committee on Race, Equity and Belonging (CoREB) and was also a law professor at BYU’s J. Reuben Clark Law School.

Hernandez credits a visit to his family by two missionaries of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints with changing his life at 14. He went on to receive bachelor’s and master’s degrees and then a Juris Doctor from BYU.

He served as an assistant dean at the BYU law school for more than 10 years. He has taught civil rights, community lawyering, fundamental lawyering skills and clinical practice courses for legislation, criminal prosecution and defense, immigration, government practice and nonprofit practice.

He was the 2019 recipient of the BYU Karl G. Maeser Professional Faculty Excellence Award and the J. Reuben Clark Professor of the Year Award in 2018.

Partnering with the Church of Jesus Christ, Hernandez founded the BYU Community Legal Clinic, which provides pro bono legal services to immigrants, refugees and other marginalized communities, and he has served as its director since 2017.