THE SON ALSO RISES AT UTAH VALLEY UNIVERSITY

BREAKING NEWS FROM THE LOCAL NEWSPAPERS

BYU history professor is UVU's new president
Matt Holland » New executive plans to build academic record of first-year university.

Preserved from the Salt Lake Tribune
http://www.sltrib.com/ci_11855238
electronic scrapbook entry for
Updated: Friday evening 03/06/2009 06:54:25 PM MST
By Donald W. Meyers The Salt Lake Tribune


Orem » Matt Holland didn't seek to become Utah Valley University's president at first.

He had finished a stint as director of Brigham Young University's Study Abroad program when a friend suggested he try for the job. While Holland gave it some thought, he didn't actively campaign until someone nominated him for the post.

At that point, he threw everything he had into getting the job.

On Friday, it paid off when the Utah Board of Regents appointed Holland, an associate professor of history at BYU, as UVU's seventh president. And he's not stopping to rest.

"I pledge to you I will give all the energy I have to this position," Holland said, promising to raise UVU's academic reputation.

Holland, son of former BYU president and LDS Apostle Jeffrey R. Holland, was one of three finalists the Regents considered from a field of 46 to replace William A. Sederburg, who is now the state's higher education commissioner. The other finalists were Jack Christianson, head of UVU's Center for Engaged Learning, and University of Michigan professor Kim Cameron.

"I have a really good feeling about our new president," said Janette Hales Beckham, chairwoman of UVU's Board of Trustees and head of the presidential search committee. "He's energized, he's well-prepared and he has a strong love for the school."

Sederburg said Holland is a worthy successor and will continue the work he began to transition UVU from a state college into a university.

"My main concern is he may make me look bad," Sederburg quipped. He said Holland was an aggressive candidate, laying out a case for bolstering academics at the school.

Holland said his goal is to make sure UVU's undergraduate degree programs are both practical and rigorous enough to produce university-level graduates.

He takes over at a time when the state is cutting back funding for higher education. To address that, Holland said he will pursue a capital plan that will seek funding from all sources.

"We need public funds, and we also need to work with private donors," Holland said.

Sederburg said Holland's academic and professional background will help him in dealing with the Legislature.

Holland holds doctorate and master's degrees in political science from Duke University, and was a special assistant to former Gov. Mike Leavitt.

Elizabeth Hitch, who served as UVU's interim president, said Holland will have plenty of help.

"One thing I learned as interim president is this is a group of people who will pitch in and do whatever needs to be done," she said. "That makes the president's job easier."

Holland said his father, while not wishing a university president's job on anyone, is also willing to offer him advice.


Matthew S. Holland

Education » He has doctorate and master's degrees in political science from Duke University and a bachelor's degree in political science from BYU. From 2005-2006, Holland served as a fellow in the James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions at Princeton University. He was a Raoul Wallenberg Scholar at Hebrew University of Jerusalem in 1991.

Experience » A BYU associate professor of political science, he also is chairman of the school's American Heritage Faculty Group and was the associate director of BYU's London Study Abroad Program in 2008. Since 1996, Holland has worked as a part-time independent management consultant. He also worked as a special assistant to Gov. Mike Leavitt from 1992 to 1994 and as chief of staff to the CEO of the Monitor Group in Cambridge, Mass., from 1992 to 1994.

Family » He is the son of former BYU professor and LDS Apostle Jeffrey R. Holland. He and his wife Paige have four children.



Holland selected as UVU president

Preserved from the Deseret News
http://www.deseretnews.com/article/1,5143,705289238,00.html
electronic scrapbook entry for
Published: Friday evening March 6, 2009
Wendy Leonard

The Utah State Board of Regents today announced Matthew S. Holland as the new president of Utah Valley University.

Holland will take over from interim president Elizabeth Hitch, who has been serving in the position since July 2008 when William A. Sederburg was named as Utah's commissioner of higher education.

Holland has served in many capacities at BYU in Provo and in study-abroad programs London. He was recently named the Outstanding Faculty Member for Service Learning at BYU. The son of Elder Jeffrey R. Holland of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Holland has also worked in management consulting, privately and for former Gov. Mike Leavitt, and has authored books. He holds doctorate and master's degree in political science from Duke University and a bachelor's degree in political science from BYU.

Holland was selected from a pool of 46 applicants representing 21 states.

UVU has grown from a small technical college in 1941 to a university serving more than 26,000 students. In addition to the 58 bachelor's degrees, 60 associate degrees, and 21 certificate programs, UVU offers master's degrees in education and nursing.

© 2009 Deseret News Publishing Company | All rights reserved



Board of Regents chooses new UVU president

Preserved from Provo Utah Daily Herald
electronic scrapbook entry for Friday evening, 06 March 2009
Daily Herald Staff

The Utah State Board of Regents selected Matthew Holland as the sixth Utah Valley University president Friday.

"We are absolutely honored and thrilled by this appointment" said Holland, who is currently an associate professor of Political Science at Brigham Young University. "This institution plays a vital role in a community and state we care about deeply. We look forward to throwing all the energy we have into serving the UVU Community well."

Holland's selection came after a nationwide search which considered 46 applicants from 21 states.

He will assume the role on July 1. He takes over the position from Elizabeth Hitch, who has served since former President William Sederberg was named Commissioner of Higher Education in August 2008.

Holland has held several leadership positions in higher education. He currently serves as the chairman of the American Heritage Faculty Group at BYU, and was the associate director of BYU's London Study Abroad Program in 2008. Holland has taught a variety of courses including American Heritage, Modern Political Philosophy, and Public Ethics. Since 1996, Holland has worked as a part-time independent management consultant. He also worked as a special assistant to Governor Michael O. Leavitt from 1992 to 1994 and as Chief of Staff to the CEO of the Monitor Group in Cambridge, Massachusetts from 1992 to 1994.

Holland holds doctorate and master's degrees in political science from Duke University and a bachelor's degree in political science from BYU. From 2005-2006, he served as a Fellow in the James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions at Princeton University, and as the Raoul Wallenberg Scholar at Hebrew University of Jerusalem in 1991.


RIGHT ASCENSION COMMENTARY

The web editions of our three local newspapers all have windows at the end of articles to encourage readers to type comments. This evening, a considerable percent of people commented in complete cynicism. How fortunate for Orem’s Great Alternative Institution to find just the right president across town. And Orthodox Republican Mormon to boot.

The new President Holland’s father served as BYU’s president in 1980 - 89. My memory of President Jeffrey Holland’s administration leads me to advise my new UVU president to take a long look at his father’s experience -- and try some other style.

Let us review.

Jeffrey Holland had a gorgeous head of hair and a pretty wife who spoke well.

He spoke beautifully on the subjects of the honor code, chastity, and BYU’s eternal place in the LDS Church Institution. He knew that if he talked well about integrity, sex, and tradition, few would remember anything he had to say on any other subject.

He managed to become an early protege of both Presidents Nathan Eldon Tanner and Gordon B. Hinckley, which meant, among other points, that he developed a Hinckleyvian sense of public relations and institutional image.

Jeffrey Holland’s actual tenure as BYU president suffered from two persistent, if not outright widespread, beliefs among that faculty and staff:

1 Holland's superiors used his administration as president to groom him for bigger things to come.

2 Everyone in authority, including Holland himself, regarded his presidency as means to an end --- not an end in itself.

LDS priesthood obedience and protocol carefully encases and shields Holland’s record as a BYU academic administrator. What I remember of it seemed about C+. So so-so.


RIGHT ASCENSION LOOKS INTO THE CRYSTAL BALL

There will exist among UVU’s faculty and staff a persistent, if not outright widespread, belief that the Regents would not have hired Holland had he, his roots, and his father been someone less noticeably Republican orthodox Mormon.

I have monitored the UVU College of Humanities in general and the English Department in particular since 1991. The UVU College of Humanities features a political atmosphere and structure modeled on Byzantium. The secularists, apostates, and liberals will come together in one galvanic knee jerk to throw a long fit over Holland. That should prove amusing to watch and hear on Monday.