Dixie State University President Holds Virtual Town Hall Meeting About Name Change

ST. GEORGE — Dixie State University president Richard Williams held a virtual town hall meeting via zoom Tuesday afternoon addressing questions about the university’s new proposed name and polytechnic focus.

Williams spoke to students about why the university wants to shift to a “polytechnic” mission, what that means, and the timeline of the name change process. He also outlined several of the various paths and programs offered by the university. Williams then answered questions from the community.

Williams said that the tech industry is expanding in St. George, and as an administrator for DSU “We have to make sure that we are going to provide… skilled students that have graduated for those jobs.”

“You have anywhere from 12,000 to 25,000 open jobs within a 300 mile radius of St. George,” said Williams. “That’s where we need to educate you students.”

What does polytechnic mean? Williams says it is a combination of career learning, industry partnerships, and internships and externships. “The polytechnic model applies to every single degree,” said Williams.

Will a polytechnic mission exclude the liberal arts majors? “Absolutely not,” said Willaims. “If you look at some of these comprehensive polytechnic universities like Cal Poly, Florida Polytechnic, Virginia Tech, Texas Tech, they have ranked nationally a lot of their liberal arts majors.”

Williams talked about the sociology and digital film majors at DSU, saying they have already started adopting the polytechnic mission by requiring internships, lab work, and on-the-job learning.

Although Dixie Technical College is next door, Williams says there is no worry that Utah Technical University will be in conflict, saying that Dixie Tech is a vocational school, and that while the schools often cooperate they have different goals.

When it comes to a name change, “We’re not going to please everybody,” said Williams. Williams said that DSU has gone through many changes since its founding, from becoming a university to changing its mascot from the Rebels to the Red Storm to the Trailblazers.

Williams said DSU began consideration of adopting a polytechnic model for education beginning in 2019. During the summer 2020 George Floyd protests, many universities began changing the names of programs and buildings, said Williams. Even the Dixie Regional Medical Center changed their name to St. George Regional Hospital. That’s when Williams said they started listening to the students, and hearing that many of them had issues with the name Dixie.

In August 2020, DSU hired the Cicero Group, a management consulting firm, to do research on the impact and perception of the university’s name. “We didn’t know if there was a problem,” said Williams. “We had data coming in consistently, but we didn’t really have a strong study.”

Williams said that the Cicero Group study found that 1 in 4 employers talking to Dixie State University alumni expressed concern with the university’s name. The Cicero Group study had a sample size of 3,000 people.

It was then that the university sent out a survey, getting 15,000 responses and deciding that “Utah” and the school’s educational mission were the two most important factors for choosing a new name.

The name change committee and board of trustees eventually arrived at Utah Polytechnic State University, then later Utah Tech University.

Williams then spent the rest of the meeting answering questions that had been sent in by students, a summary of which can be found below:

Q: How have students been involved in the name recommendation process after the survey? Both of the names recommended were the least popular in the survey. Why not hold a vote to decide the name?

A: Williams said after the survey there were numerous meetings with different stakeholder groups, including students. Two students were on the name change committee. Focus groups were held with students after the survey, and various students presented their arguments to the committee. Williams said there are too many factors for a popular vote to work, like URLs, copyright, marketability, and fit with the school’s mission.

Q: Why hasn’t the community been listened to more? There were other good names like Desert State University, St. George University, Red Rock University, or Zion University that weren’t taken into consideration.

A: Williams said the names were all taken into consideration, but during the vetting process many of the names were ruled out. For example, Desert State University is trademarked by Marvel. St. George University was another popular option, but there are two other universities that share the same. Committee members also felt like the name sounded small, catholic, private, and expensive. Red Rock University didn’t have a strong academic focus that the committee wanted. Williams said each of the names were explored and evaluated, but Utah Tech University was the one that came out on top.

Q: What are the differences between the future Dixie State University and Dixie Technical College?

A: Williams said that Dixie Tech is a vocational school. DSU offers associate, baccalaureate, and master’s degrees. He said there is a great partnership, but the two schools are not trying to duplicate each other. “We’re not trying to be a technical college,” said Williams. “We’re trying to be a technological university with that polytechnic model.”

Q: Will Dixie Tech face difficulty if they try to change their name later? Why is it necessary to put “tech” in our university’s name?

A: Williams said while he did not want to speak for Dixie Tech, the two universities have different goals. “We’re very national, and they’re very regional,” said Williams. “I think they like their brand and want to stick with it.”

Q: In Orem, there was a Utah Technical College which later became Utah Valley University. Will the new Utah Tech University be confused with that?

A: Williams said that Utah Technical College served a need at the time, but as the school grew they developed into a university. “Again, we’re not going to be Utah Technical College, we’re Utah Tech University,” said Williams. “This is associate, bachelor’s, master’s [degrees], eventually clinical doctorates.”

Q: How will being a tech school help those going into careers like nursing or dental hygiene?

A: “The health sciences as well as the arts,” said Williams, “they’re kind of the poster child for this polytechnic model.” Williams said other universities with a polytechnic focus have strong nursing and dental hygiene programs, through a career focused, hands-on education. Williams said the university’s polytechnic model is not built out completely, but “we have a lot of progress in this area.”

Q: Can you fully disclose the results of the survey?

A: The results of the Cicero Group study can be found here, and the results of the 15,000 person survey can be found here. More info can be found at dixie.edu/nameprocess.

Q: What will be the total cost of renaming the university, and who will pay it?

A: Williams said that they do not know the full cost now, but many of the potential updates are already a part of the school’s budget for regular maintenance. For example, the school already has a budget for replacing the banners around campus, basketball courts, and football fields. Some of the funds for rebranding will come from donors, and the rest will come from the legislature.

Q: How could the committee turn down a recommendation like Desert Sun University when it would keep the DSU acronym and streamline the rebranding process?

A: Williams says that was one of the names considered. “The D on the mountain is not going away,” but that when renaming a university the most convenient choice is not necessarily the best one. “We’ve got to focus on what’s best for students, what’s the path forward, and that’s what we’ve done.”

Q: How is Dixie offensive when the original use of the name in Utah has nothing to do with the south? It’s a name for a region, and in Southern Utah it doesn’t mean slavery.

A: Williams said that outside of Utah, the name Dixie is tied to the confederate south. “I agree that the local meaning here was not originally tied to slavery, and it still isn’t,” said Williams. “Calling and addressing the region as Utah’s Dixie is something that I will embrace because it wasn’t tied to that.” However, Williams said that many alumni find themselves being forced to explain the university’s name in job interviews. DSU also has some historical baggage, with blackface at homecoming, mock slave auctions, a confederate soldier mascot, and the confederate battle flag flying on campus. Williams says it is not fair to current students to be implied in something they have not been involved in. “The data is correct. I’ve studied it. I’ve double checked it. It is hurting students.”

Q: Why will we be the Dixie Campus of Utah Tech if the whole goal of this name change was to get rid of Dixie?

A: “The impact is having Dixie State University on your resume, on your transcript at a national and international level,” said Williams. “Here we know what Dixie means.” DSU has or will have alternate campuses in Hurricane, Kanab, Hildale, and Desert Color, and Williams said it makes sense to refer to the main campus as the Dixie campus.

Q: Will students graduating this summer and next spring be graduating from Dixie State or Utah Tech?

A: Those that are graduating this summer will have DSU on their diploma, but after that it depends on when the name change is made official.