Nevertheless, he was an excellent orator and organizer.[2] Under his tenure in 1904 the new Brigham Young University bought 17 acres (69,000 m2) of land from Provo called "Temple Hill".[26] After some controversy among locals over BYU's purchase of this property, construction began in 1909 on the first building on the current campus, the Karl G. Maeser Memorial.[28] Brimhall also presided over the University during a brief crisis involving the theory of evolution.