Matthew Scott Holland (born June 7, 1966) has been a general authority of

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a nontrinitarian Christian church that considers itself to be the restoration of the original church founded by Jesus Christ. The ch ...

(LDS Church) since April 2020. He previously served as the 6th president of Utah Valley University (UVU) in

Orem, Utah Orem is a city in Utah County, Utah, United States, in the northern part of the state. It is adjacent to Provo, Lindon, and Vineyard and is approximately south of Salt Lake City. Orem is one of the principal cities of the Provo-Orem, Utah Me ...

, and its first president after UVU was granted university status (as opposed to a college).

Biography

Holland earned the rank of

Eagle Scout Eagle Scout is the highest achievement or rank attainable in the Scouts BSA program of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA). Since its inception in 1911, only four percent of Scouts have earned this rank after a lengthy review process. The Eagle S ...

from the

Boy Scouts of America The Boy Scouts of America (BSA, colloquially the Boy Scouts) is one of the largest scouting organizations and one of the largest youth organizations in the United States, with about 1.2 million youth participants. The BSA was founded ...

in 1980. Holland was selected as UVU's sixth president by the Utah State Board of Regents in the spring of 2009 and officially began his tenure on June 1 of that year, succeeding interim president Elizabeth Hitch. Following the transition from a state college to a university in the summer of 2008, Holland became the first president of the university. Prior to joining UVU, Holland was an associate professor in the political science department at

Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU, sometimes referred to colloquially as The Y) is a private research university in Provo, Utah. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-d ...

(BYU) in Provo. Holland was valedictorian of BYU's political science department when he completed undergraduate work there in 1991. He studied early American political thought at Duke University in Durham, N.C. where he earned a

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...

in political science in 2000. Holland also received an academic fellowship to study at

Princeton University Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the ...

as a James Madison Fellow, and at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem as a Raoul Wallenberg Scholar. Building on his dissertation, Holland published ''Bonds of Affection: Civic Charity and the Making of America'' with Georgetown University Press in 2007. As a professional, Holland was a special assistant to former Utah Governor Mike Leavitt, and he was chief of staff for the top executive of the international consulting firm Monitor Group. As a faculty member at BYU, his emphasis on applied learning concepts led to his selection as the institution’s “Civically Engaged Scholar of the Year” by Utah Campus Compact. Previous to service at UVU, Holland was on the board of the

National Organization for Marriage The National Organization for Marriage (NOM) is an American non-profit political organization established to work against the legalization of same-sex marriage in the United States. It was formed in 2007 specifically to pass California Proposi ...

, which is a political organization which opposes

same-sex marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same sex or gender. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 33 countries, with the most recent being Mexico, constituting ...

. Holland is a member of the American Political Science Association and the

American Historical Association The American Historical Association (AHA) is the oldest professional association of historians in the United States and the largest such organization in the world. Founded in 1884, the AHA works to protect academic freedom, develop professional s ...

. He also serves on boards, including the Deseret News Editorial Advisory Board, Utah Technology Council and the Salt Lake Chamber. Holland received the NESA

Outstanding Eagle Scout Award The NESA Outstanding Eagle Scout Award (NOESA) is a distinguished service award of the Boy Scouts of America The Boy Scouts of America (BSA, colloquially the Boy Scouts) is one of the largest scouting organizations and one of the larges ...

through the

Utah National Parks Council The Utah National Parks Council (UNPC) is a former local council of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) that served youth in areas of Utah who live south of Salt Lake County and in some isolated areas of Nevada and Arizona. It was headquartered in Ore ...

of BSA in 2011. On November 6, 2017, Holland announced that he would leave his position at UVU in June 2018 to serve as a

mission president Mission president is a priesthood leadership position in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). A mission president presides over a geographic area known as a mission and the missionaries serving in the mission. Depending o ...

for the LDS Church. He was subsequently assigned to the church's North Carolina Raleigh

Mission Mission (from Latin ''missio'' "the act of sending out") may refer to: Organised activities Religion *Christian mission, an organized effort to spread Christianity *Mission (LDS Church), an administrative area of The Church of Jesus Christ of ...

. In April 2018 it was announced that Astrid S. Tuminez would succeed Holland as president. On April 4, 2020 Holland was sustained as an LDS Church general authority.

Personal life

Holland's father,

Jeffrey R. Holland Jeffrey Roy Holland (born December 3, 1940) is an American educator and religious leader. He served as the List of presidents of Brigham Young University, ninth President of Brigham Young University (BYU) and is a member of the Quorum of the Twe ...

, was president of BYU and is currently a member of the LDS Church's

Quorum of the Twelve Apostles A quorum is the minimum number of members of a deliberative assembly (a body that uses parliamentary procedure, such as a legislature) necessary to conduct the business of that group. According to ''Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised'', the ...

. Holland's wife, Paige, is also a Utah Valley native, graduating from Timpview High School in Provo before enrolling at BYU. The Hollands are the parents of four children.

Publications

References

External links

Office of the President
{{DEFAULTSORT:Holland, Matthew S. 1966 births Latter Day Saints from Utah American political scientists Provo High School alumni Brigham Young University alumni Brigham Young University faculty Duke University alumni Living people Princeton University fellows Utah Valley University people National Organization for Marriage people Latter Day Saints from North Carolina General authority seventies (LDS Church) American general authorities (LDS Church)