The Past is Present: Dixie State University and the battle to change
The use of "Dixie" in the college's name has received three distinct periods of debate: first, during merger discussions with the University of Utah in 2007; second, during the college's bid to become a university in 2012; and third in conjunction with international protests for racial justice during the summer of 2020.
Attempted Change 1: 2007
The first serious discussions about the white supremacist connotations of the name "Dixie" began at DSU in 2007 as the college explored the process of becoming affiliated with the University of Utah. The University of Utah was open to the affiliation on the condition that the “Rebel” mascot and college name were changed as they did not "want to be associated with the stereotypes of the Old South." Their chief trustee, Randy Dryier, stated, "Dixie State will have to become the 'University of Utah at St. George' if merger talks succeed” (Associated Press). As part of the merger efforts, Dixie College had already dropped the “Rebel” mascot and then-college president, Lee Caldwell, created a task force to develop a new name for the college selecting Lyman Hafen and Douglas Alder, a former Dixie College President, as historians to serve on a panel to "design the language of what we stand for" (Associated Press).
Efforts to join with the University of Utah and remove “Dixie” from the college's name abruptly came to a halt when President Caldwell resigned on March 27, 2007. Caldwell gave no reason for his resignation but campus insiders who spoke to the Deseret News on the condition of anonymity said, "the regents forced Caldwell to resign or face being fired, even though Caldwell recently passed a yearly evaluation. Speculation is rampant that Caldwell raised the regents' ire because of his insistence that Dixie investigate an affiliation proposal with the University of Utah or his aggressive "style" in pushing Dixie's agenda forward” (Leonard and Perkins).
Attempted Change 2: 2012
As the college moved towards becoming a university in 2012, the question of what the university would be named became a flashpoint on campus and in the community. Unlike the name change debates five years prior, the 2012 debates happened in the open, illustrating a deep divide on campus and in the community regarding the name. During this period one of the final, and most overt connections to the Confederate South was finally removed from the campus. After twenty-five years of being prominently displayed on campus, on December 6, Jerry Anderson's "The Rebels" statue was put into storage ("Amid Name Debate"). The life-size bronze statue depicts a Confederate soldier on horseback, Confederate battle flag billowing, reaching down to a fallen soldier. College president Stephen Naudauld couched the removal in concern for the artwork's safety stating, "The statue has become a lightning rod. We feel bad about that...It's a beautiful piece of art. We are nervous something might happen to the statue. It might be vandalized" ("Amid Name Debate"). Anderson, the artist, had a different response, one that captured the broader community's sentiment regarding the name change and the statue's removal, "It looks like they have succumbed to the adversary. They are a bunch of wusses. That's the first action taken to get rid of it. The other people are winning. That's the way it is in the world. We are giving in to people who really aren't Americans" ("Amid Name Debate"). The statue was then returned to the artist in 2015 in exchange for another sculpture, yet it is worth noting that "The Rebels" sculpture remains publicly on display in Washington County (Knox).
Meanwhile on campus, tensions about the name change began to rise at the same time as student leaders were summoned to meet with administrators. During the same week as the removal of "The Rebels" statue, college administrators called Brody Mikesell, student body president and opponent of including "Dixie" in the new name, and "cautioned him to make it clear he is not speaking for the student body when he advocates for the name change." Student and faculty opposition to keeping the name "Dixie" grew on campus in the weeks after "The Rebels" statue removal ("Student Faculty Dissent"). Student body vice president, Greg Noel, an African-American student, was interviewed by a local TV station and later discovered college administrators had scrutinized his conduct in an attempt to find if he had violated any college policies. Frank Lojko, vice president for student services, denied allegations that Del Beatty, dean of students, coerced student government leaders to "tone down their advocacy;" however, "a Dixie staffer, who asked to not be named for fear of retaliation, confirmed the scrutiny of Noel's interview" ("Student Faculty Dissent"). Scrutiny and intimidation of student government leaders continued when campus police allegedly reported Mikesell to Beatty for attending an anti-racism vigil. Dissenting faculty, and especially BIPOC faculty, were targeted by community members and urged to leave the community entirely ("Student Faculty Dissent").
The debate around the new university's name concluded its second iteration in January 2013 with Dixie State's Board of Trustees voting to keep "Dixie" as part of the name when the college became a university. As student body president, who held voting rights on the board of trustees, Mikesell, through tears, voted to keep "Dixie" as part of the name stating, "It tears me apart to have to vote that way. … But I made a commitment to the president and to the students that I would represent the student voice, and the student voice is overwhelmingly for 'Dixie State University'...This definitely brought out the ugly in people" (Jenkins).
Dixie State College officially became Dixie State University in 2013 (Alder). For many it seemed like the issue of the name was settled; however, during the summer of 2020, in the wake of the police killing of George Floyd and international protests for racial justice and against police violence, local and national voices reinvigorated the call for change.
Attempted Change 3: 2020/2021
In September of 2020, the DSU faculty senate held an emergency meeting and voted to support a resolution to change the university’s name (Mildenhall). DSU then hired Cicero Higher Ed to conduct an impact study through the fall semester in order to evaluate the current issues and feelings surrounding the name “Dixie” (“Dixie State University Name”). While the impact study continued to reflect the divide seen in the 2012 name change debate, a key finding showed that “… 22% of recent graduates looking for jobs outside of Utah have had a prospective employer express concern that the word ‘Dixie’ is on their résumé.” On December 14, 2020 the Dixie State University board of trustees for the first time voted in favor of recommending a name change to the Utah System of Higher Education ("Dixie State University Board”).
Due to its position as a state university, changing the name of DSU requires legislation passed by the Utah House and Senate. The Utah State Legislature’s House Education Committee voted in favor of Representative Kelly B. Miles' bill H.B. 278 Name Change Process for Dixie State University to allow the name change (Winslow). However, the St. George News reported on February 18, 2021 that the fate of the bill was in question when it stalled in Utah’s Senate. Rumors circulated that the Senate would not hear the bill during the 2021 General Session sparking public concern (“Dixie State Releases”). Three days later on February, 21st the St. George News followed up their report with emails obtained from Senator Don Ipson dated January 21 that appeared to show the Senate had decided not to consider the bill well before it reached the House for debate (“January Email”). In response to the Senate’s effort to delay and block the bill, Dixie State students traveled three hundred miles to the capitol building steps to protest the Senate’s inaction on February 24.
In response, by March 3, 2021 a “watered down bill” passed the Utah Senate though several Republican senators decried the bill as “cancel culture gone too far” (“Watered-down”). The final bill, heavily revised by Senator Don L. Ipson, requires both that the University revisit the renaming process and that the board of trustees “create a Heritage Committee to preserve the heritage, culture, and history of the region and the institution.” The bill earmarks a one-time expenditure of $500,000 to fund the Heritage Committee's work (Kelly and Ipson). Utah Governor, Spencer Cox, signed the bill to change Dixie State’s name on March 17, 2021.
While the passage of the legislation marks the furthest the name change debate for DSU has ever reached and the first real opportunity for substantive change, whether that will materialize is very much unknown. The focus on “revisiting the process” alongside the establishment of a “Heritage Committee” may continue to stall the name change process and appears to give primacy to the “Dixie identity,” rather than address the foundational issue of white supremacy and racism bound to the history of the region.
~Spencer Potter
WORKS CITED
Alder, Douglas. Our History. 2019, about.dixie.edu/history/.
Associated Press. “Dixie State College Ready to Surrender Name, Mascot.” Diverse Podium, 20 Nov. 2007, diversepodium.com/article/10234/.
Jenkins, Kevin. “Utah College Votes to Keep 'Dixie' in Name.” USA Today, 18 Jan. 2013, www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/01/18/college-votes-to-keep-dixie-in-name/1566472/.
Leonard, Wendy, and Nancy Perkins. “Dixie State President Steps Down.” Deseret News, 28 Mar. 2008, www.deseret.com/2008/3/28/20079005/dixie-state-president-steps-down#the-state-board-of-regents-named-dr-stephen-d-nadauld-former-president-of-weber-state-university-as-interim-president-of-dixie-state-college.
Maffly, Brian. “Amid Name Debate, Dixie Removes Confederate Statue.” The Salt Lake Tribune , 6 Dec. 2012, archive.sltrib.com/article.php?id=55417642&itype=CMSID.
Maffly, Brian. “Student, Faculty Dissent a New Challenge for Dixie, Community.” The Salt Lake Tribune , 21 Dec. 2012, archive.sltrib.com/article.php?id=24635578&itype=storyID#gallery-carousel-446996.
Knox, Annie. “Dixie State University Returning Controversial 'Rebels' Statue to Artist.” The Salt Lake Tribune , 13 Jan. 2015, archive.sltrib.com/article.php?id=2053278&itype=CMSID#gallery-carousel-446996.
Leonard, Wendy, and Nancy Perkins. “Dixie State President Steps Down.” Deseret News, 28 Mar. 2008, www.deseret.com/2008/3/28/20079005/dixie-state-president-steps-down#the-state-board-of-regents-named-dr-stephen-d-nadauld-former-president-of-weber-state-university-as-interim-president-of-dixie-state-college.
Maffly, Brian. “Amid Name Debate, Dixie Removes Confederate Statue.” The Salt Lake Tribune , 6 Dec. 2012, archive.sltrib.com/article.php?id=55417642&itype=CMSID.
Maffly, Brian. “Student, Faculty Dissent a New Challenge for Dixie, Community.” The Salt Lake Tribune , 21 Dec. 2012, archive.sltrib.com/article.php?id=24635578&itype=storyID#gallery-carousel-446996.
Mildenhall, Emily. “Faculty Senate Votes to Support DSU Name Change.” Dixie Sun News , 3 Sept. 2020, dixiesunnews.com/news/articles/2020/08/28/faculty-senate-votes-to-support-dsu-name-change/.
Stark, Hollie. “Dixie State Releases Statement Following Rumors That Senate Will Not Hear Bill to Change School Name.” St. George News , 18 Feb. 2021, www.stgeorgeutah.com/news/archive/2021/02/18/hsr-mkg-lgl21-dixie-state-name-change-in-doubt-after-rumors-surface-that-the-senate-will-not-hear-the-bill/#.YFve94hKiUk.
Stark , Hollie. “January Email Indicates Utah Senate Likely Never Intended to Hear Dixie State Name Change Bill.” St. George News, 21 Feb. 2020, www.stgeorgeutah.com/news/archive/2021/02/21/hsr-january-email-indicates-utah-senate-likely-never-intended-to-hear-dixie-state-name-change-bill/#.YFvgNYhKiUn.
Webber, Megan. “Gov. Cox Signs Dixie State University Name Change Bill.” St. George News, 17 Mar. 2021, www.stgeorgeutah.com/news/archive/2021/03/17/mrw-lgl21-gov-cox-signs-dixie-state-university-name-change-bill/#.YFvnrohKiUm.
Winslow, Ben. “House Committee Votes to Ditch 'Dixie' from Dixie State University.” KSTU, KSTU, 4 Feb. 2021, www.fox13now.com/news/local-news/house-committee-votes-to-ditch-dixie-from-dixie-state-university.
Additional Resources:
Amid name debate, Dixie removes Confederate statue – The Salt Lake Tribune, December 6, 2012
Utah college votes to keep 'Dixie' in name – USA Today, January 18, 2013
Faculty senate votes to support DSU name change – Dixie Sun News, September 3, 2020
‘Dixie’ Name Impact Study – Cicero Higher Ed, December 13, 2020.
Dixie State University Name Change: Message from President Williams - 2020
H.B. 278 Name Chance Process for Dixie State University - 2021
House committee votes to ditch 'Dixie' from Dixie State University – Fox13, February 3, 2021
Students protest as Utah lawmakers resist changing 'Dixie' – abc News, February 24, 2021
Watered-down Dixie State name change bill passes Utah Senate – Standard Examiner, March 3 2021
Gov. Cox signs Dixie State University name change bill – St. George News, March 17, 2021