SALT LAKE CITY – If all goes as expected, Utah lawmakers will address a name change for Dixie State University in their 2022 general assembly.
Senate President Stuart Adams spoke to reporters Tuesday, saying the bill calls for a public trial and then that the university’s trustees and the Utah Board of Higher Education make a recommendation to the Legislative Management Committee no later than November 1.
Senator Don Ipson, R-St. George, who is now the Senate sponsor of the newest version of HB278, predicts the Dixie name will in some ways stay on campus.
“I think it will probably be like that somehow. … This is what the inheritance part of the bill is for, so that the community doesn’t lose the inheritance and namesake, ”he said.
Ipson was asked if he was satisfied with the latest version of the Dixie State Act and responded to reporters’ questions, “As you have probably noticed, I am the sponsor. I think that says it all. ”
Senator Mike McKell, R-Spanish Fork, was Senate sponsor of the original bill. The bill’s main sponsor is Rep. Kelly Miles, R-South Ogden. Miles is co-chair of the Subcommittee on Funding for Higher Education.
The Senate Education Committee voted 6-1 in favor of the revised bill and sent it to the Utah Senate for consideration. The Senate is expected to discuss the bill on Wednesday at 11 a.m.
The revised invoice doesn’t require a specific name or rule out the Dixie name. The original bill, passed by the Utah House of Representatives by 51 to 20 votes, said the new name could not include Dixie.
The new language states that when university trustees and the state higher education agency give lawmakers a name that does not include the term Dixie, the trustees “all set up a heritage committee to discuss strategies for preserving heritage, culture and history Identify the country’s region and implement it on the institution’s campus, including the regional meaning of the term ‘Dixie’. “
The revised bill includes a one-time request for $ 500,000 to support the heritage committee’s conservation efforts.
Adams, R-Layton, commended Ipson for his work to ensure the process stays on track but provides the opportunity for a public trial.
“Sen. Ipson has always been a real advocate of time for people, and I think that calculation does both. It keeps going on the schedule that brings it back. … It gives the community a chance to have more time to think this year, which I think is a great compromise. He did a phenomenal job of making up for this. Just a great job, Senator, ”said Adams.
Proponents of the bill say the name Dixie harms students as they seek admission and employment for a graduate school.
Opponents say changing a name is akin to breaking the culture and disregarding the history of the early Latter-day Saint settlers in the area.
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