Dr. Richard Holzapfel

Dr. Richard Neitzel Holzapfel doesn’t collect dusty dates—but the stories of the living, breathing human experience. His global perspective was sparked by a chance encounter with the Orthodox Jewish community in Lugano, Switzerland, while serving as a Latter-day Saint young missionary. That moment of “awakening” launched a lifelong quest for understanding that took him from Brigham Young University to Hebrew Union College and UC Irvine. Richard doesn’t just teach history; he walks it. His “global classroom” has spanned Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Middle East, often leading students through the ancient streets of Athens, Rome, and Jerusalem. A prolific historian, he has authored over 50 books and 200 articles, frequently teaming up with his favorite collaborator—his wife, Jeni Broberg Holzapfel—to make complex history feel like a conversation. Beyond his academic life, Richard has learned about people and their stories while ministering as a bishop, stake president, mission president, and Area Seventy. Now a Professor Emeritus, Richard is still on the move—leading educational tours, researching, and writing from his home in peaceful Spanish Fork Canyon, Utah. Despite his many academic and ecclesiastical titles, Richard is happiest being husband to Jeni and “Grandpa” to eleven grandchildren.