Arbor Branch of the LDS church while there. At the time he left for the University of Michigan, Cluff had two wives, Mary the daughter of David John and Harriet "Hattie" Cullimore. Principal of Brigham Young Academy After receiving his degree, Cluff returned to Brigham Young Academy and became the assistant principal. Although the board voted unanimously to make Cluff assistant principal, much of the faculty at the academy were apprehensive because of Cluff's ties to education in the East and their distrust in eastern influences at the academy. When Karl G. Maeser, the acting principal of the academy, returned from an extended trip, he found that many of the affairs of the academy, especially financial affairs, were in disarray and because of Maeser's reaction, Cluff resigned as assistant principal. A few months later the board rejected Cluff's resignation. By late 1891, Karl G. Maeser had to be replaced as principal of Brigham Young Academy because he had been called to oversee the entire LDS education program as superintendent of church schools, and was unable to do both jobs. Church University On January 4, 1892, the principalship of Brigham Young Academy was passed from Maeser to Cluff. This occurred on the same day that approximately one thousand people were gathered for the dedication of the new Academy Building. After becoming principal, there were many pressing matters that Cluff had to address. One of those matters was the proposed formation of an LDS university in Salt Lake City. Many worried that this would affect the academy by taking away some of its most prestigious teachers, including Cluff who had been offered a position there. Fortunately for the academy, Cluff did not go to the LDS College. When the Circular Number Eight, a document that restricted the right of existing LDS schools in order to centralize the new Church University, was created by the General Board of Education, Cluff and other leaders of major church schools tried to fight back against certain provisions of the document. One provision that Cluff feared was the restriction of church schools other than the new Church University to give degrees to their students. Although the leaders of the major LDS schools were apprehensive about the idea of creating a Church University, many of the most prestigious of these educators were called to be members of the committee charged with the responsibility to organize the new Church