Dixie State University

History

The institution was founded by the The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) on September 19, 1911, as St. George Stake Academy. In 1916, the academy, located in a region called "Utah's Dixie" by Brigham Young and local settlers, became Dixie Normal College, and then, in 1923, the name was changed to Dixie Junior College. In 1933, the LDS Church discontinued its support of the college, and rather than give up on it, the local citizenry came together and maintained the school’s operation through donations and labor for two years.

In 1935, the State Board of Education took over the funding for the school, but wanted to split the college students from the high school students, with the high school moving under the direction of Washington County. The community resisted, feeling that the approximate 200 college students and similar number of high school students needed to be combined to provide a good-sized student body for the many social and academic programs. Another concern was that the county did not have the funds to build a new high school.

Between 1935 and 1963 there were close calls when various state leaders proposed closing the college, but the local citizens were fiercely loyal to the college and willing to donate to keep it alive. These local citizens, particularly the Dixie Education Association, raised the funds to purchase four blocks of land on 700 East and 100 South for a new campus. They presented that land to the state which, in turn, agreed to fund a few buildings for a new campus there. In 1957 the gymnasium was finished and by 1963 four other buildings were ready for college students with the high school students remaining on the downtown campus.

On September 7, 2007, Dixie State College Board of Trustees members announced that Dixie State College of Utah would petition the University of Utah to become the University of Utah–St. George. The proposal was approved by the Dixie State College Board of Trustees on October 7, 2007, and by the University of Utah Board of Trustees on October 14, 2007; however, this did not come to fruition.

In 2011, a bill was drafted for the review of the Utah State Legislature and the Utah State Governor to support Dixie State College's transition to university status.

The institution contracted with a local advertising firm, Sorenson Advertising, to investigate names for the institution as a university and found that alumni overwhelmingly supported the name "Dixie" while less than half of faculty/staff supported the name "Dixie" (p. 48).

In 2013, the Utah Legislature changed the status of the institution from a college to a university and named it Dixie State University. Governor Gary Herbert signed the bill into law in a ceremony on campus, calling the new university into existence on February 16, 2013. President Stephen Nadauld of Dixie State University and others recognized this step as the fulfillment of the dream of the original Mormon pioneers of the area to have a university for their communities.

Also in 2013 the Board of Trustees approved a student driven proposed campus-wide tobacco ban. The ban prohibits all tobacco products, including electronic cigarettes. The ban went into effect on January 1, 2014.

The primary campus of Dixie State University is located in St. George, Utah, with the Hurricane Education Center campus extension located in Hurricane, Utah.

Academics

The University offers over 150 academic programs.

Student association

Dixie State University's Student Association (DSUSA) is a federated student administrative body overseeing the functions, funding, and promotion of official student organizations. Executive and legislative power is primarily vested in an elected Executive Council, the President's Cabinet, and the Student Senate. Student clubs interact with the DSUSA governing bodies primarily through non-elected Club Representatives. Club Representatives work on behalf of the following organizational categories: Academic Clubs, Student Organizations, Non-Traditional Clubs, Multicultural and Diversity Clubs, Health Science Clubs, and Athletic and Recreation Clubs. All Executive Council members and most Managers receive some sort of financial aid in return for their work.

Various responsibilities fall to DSUSA including the planning of most on-campus events, charity and service work, and relations between university students and the school's faculty and surrounding community. Any student is able to apply for any position in DSUSA, and if chosen is asked to maintain good academic and community standing, while abiding by the University's other rules and bylaws.

DSU Student clubs and organizations use OrgSync, the online community management system, as the main club hub where they can set up portals for their clubs, get updates, add club members, schedule events, keep track of club budgets, and perform other club management functions. The DSUSA Inter-Club Council (ICC) comprises all the university club presidents and DSUSA's Club Council. ICC meetings are held bi-weekly, and club presidents are encouraged to attend.

Athletics

Dixie State University competes in NCAA Division II as a full member of the Pacific West Conference, football-only member of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference, and swimming-only member of the Pacific Collegiate Swim Conference beginning in fall 2016. The teams are collective known as the Dixie State University Trailblazers – an identity which was unveiled on April 11, 2016.

The Trailblazers’ mascot is Brooks the Bison, who made his first appearance on Sept. 1, 2016, during half-time at the Fall 2016 football season-opener against New Mexico Highlands in Legend Solar Stadium. The football team went on to win that game, marking its first season-opening win since Aug., 2009.

The mascot is named after the first student in the institution’s history, Samuel Brooks, who slept on the steps outside what was then St. George Stake Academy to be the first to pay the $10 tuition the next morning. The descended family of Samuel Brooks sat in the stands and was recognized when Brooks first arrived in the stadium.

The DSU student section is called “The Stampede” and is run by the Dixie State University Student Association.

Athletic facilities

The Trailblazers football and soccer teams play in Legend Solar Stadium, formerly known as Hansen Stadium. On April 29, 2016, Legend Solar announced it would donate $10 million dollars in cash and trade toward the renovation of DSU’s stadium. The planned renovation includes the construction of an east grandstand; an addition to the top of the west grandstand for banquet rooms, executive boxes, and new press box; and the installation of solar panels and a 1,500 kilowatt system in the stadium and throughout the DSU campus. The west grandstand is now named “Hansen Grandstand" in honor of the George T. Hansen family, who funded the construction of the stadium in the 1980s and who support the renaming and renovation of Legend Solar Stadium.

The Trailblazers basketball teams play in the Burns Arena, named after Dixie alumnus and donor M. Anthony Burns.

DSU Women’s Volleyball plays in the Old Gym, located in the Student Activities Center.

Raging Red Show Choir

The Raging Red Show Choir is a goodwill and showcase performance group composed of students that was started in January 2009. Raging Red has performed throughout Utah, in parts of Nevada and Arizona, and performed at the 2010 World's Fair in China. The group is directed by Merilee Webb and performs a variety of different styles of music, including hip-hop, spiritual, and Broadway, and stages scenes from popular films and television programs.

For the 2010 World's Fair, its program included the song "Belle" from Disney's Beauty and the Beast, "For Good" from the Broadway production of Wicked, a medley of Muppet music and skits from The Muppets and Sesame Street, as well as a dance mix of seventies classics. Each song includes solo performances by members of the choir and almost always require improvisation at some point.

In April 2010, Raging Red opened a show for Jon Schmidt as a fundraiser for its trip to China the following month, which was in part funded by the students.

Merilee Webb has a Master's in Music Education from Brigham Young University, where she was selected "Most Outstanding Musician" in 1983, and teaches in Salt Lake City and St. George. Webb has served as Associate Director for "Young Americans," where she met Raging Red's then-future choreographer, Mackenzie Koehler, a student at the time.

Box office

Dixie State University Box Office is located in the Cox Auditorium (aka the Avenna Center) in between Tennis Courts and the Smiths Computer Center. The Box Office is the main ticketing center for events on campus including sports, music, theater, and dance. Although the main office for the Box Office is in the Cox Auditorium there are offices in various buildings:

Ban on sororities and fraternities

In 2013, Dixie State University student Indigo Klabanoff pushed for the creation of a sorority and its financial support. DSU would not approve it or the creation of clubs with Greek letters in their names (excepting honor societies), because they said introducing Greek Life properly requires significant funding and the inherent “partying” stereotype of a Greek system was not a culture they wanted to encourage on campus.

Assault

In December 2014, theater professor Varlo Davenport received a notice of dismissal and termination of employment in connection with a student complaint of an alleged assault, but was told he could request a hearing because of his tenure. University faculty and officials investigated the complaint resulting from the use of physical resistance used by Davenport in an acting course on November 21, 2014. After its investigation, a Faculty Review Board (FRB) recommended Davenport’s reinstatement. DSU President Williams found the FRB’s findings were contrary to the information presented, rejected the recommendation, and upheld the termination. The student pressed charges, but in the ensuing 2016 City of St. George v. Davenport trial, the jury found him not guilty.

Censorship

In 2015, in accordance with school policy, three students requested permission from the university to post fliers with satirical images of former President George W. Bush and revolutionary leader Che Guevara on campus. The university disapproved the request because the fliers violated school policy by mocking people.

On March 4, 2015, the three students filed a lawsuit against Dixie State University in federal court, stating that the university violated their Constitutional right to free speech with an overly restrictive and overly vague school policy.

In May 2015, President Williams announced that all campus policies that infringed upon free expression and free speech would be temporarily rescinded and new directives were being drafted. In President Williams' statement, he said, "Dixie State University is a campus of academic freedom, with the right to inquire broadly and to question, and where even unpopular answers, seemingly absurd ideas, and unconventional thought are not only permitted, but even encouraged." This statement upset many research-oriented faculty members.

On September 17, 2015, Dixie State University settled the lawsuit with the three plaintiffs involved in the case. The university agreed to pay the students $50,000 total in damages and attorney fees. The university also agreed to revise its speech policies that the three plaintiffs said were restrictive and vague.