Dr. Matthew S. Holland, president of Utah Valley University, has been called to serve as a mission president for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints starting in July next year. He will continue to serve as UVU president through early June 2018. The LDS Church has said the Hollands will preside over an English-speaking mission and will announce the location later in the year.
“Serving at UVU during the past nine years has been a signal honor and daily joy,” said Holland. “The experience of building a thriving university around a community college has been one of the great causes in higher education and I couldn’t be more pleased about the impact this powerful, dual-mission model has had in making a quality, college degree more affordable, accessible, and relevant. At the same time, I absolutely cherish my faith and am so honored and grateful for this unexpected privilege to serve in this new ecclesiastical role.”
President Holland was appointed the sixth president of Utah Valley University in 2009. Under his leadership, he completed the institution’s transition to a full-fledged university now with more than 37,000 students (headcount), making it the largest university in the state. During his tenure, academic offerings expanded to 44 certificate programs, 62 associate degrees, 84 bachelor degrees, three graduate certificates, and eight master degrees.
“We have been fortunate to have Matt Holland serving as president of UVU for nearly nine years,” said Daniel W. Campbell, chair of the Utah Board of Regents. “It has been a remarkable period of growth and development. Matt and Paige’s service has been exceptional. We will miss them greatly but wish them well in their future endeavors. They will always be part of the UVU community.”
“Matt has been a transformative president at Utah Valley University,” said David L. Buhler, Utah Commissioner of Higher Education. “The Board of Regents will commence a national search with the intention of having a new president named by June 2018. Names of the search committee members will be announced in the near future.”
Elaine Dalton, chair, UVU Board of Trustees noted: “Matt Holland’s vision for engaged learning and student success has propelled UVU into the national and international spotlight. His ability to work with people in a cooperative and synergistic way has garnered immense community support and trust. As a board of trustees, we wish to express our heartfelt gratitude to President Holland for his leadership that has helped all of us see and work for UVU’s true potential. We will remain committed to the upward trajectory President Holland has envisioned and established.”
About the presidential search process
Board of Regents Chair Dan Campbell will name the UVU presidential search committee shortly. The presidential search committee will hold public meetings to obtain input from members of the UVU community and the general public on the presidential search. (A schedule of these meetings will be released in the coming weeks.)
Based on this feedback, the committee will approve a position announcement and call for nominations and applications. The committee will then screen applications for the position and conduct interviews with candidates. After deliberating, the committee will recommend three to five finalists to the Board of Regents.
