SALT LAKE CITY — Southern Utah’s Dixie State University is one step closer to changing a name often associated with the Deep South and slavery after the Utah House approved a renaming plan Wednesday over local backlash.
The bill that now moves to the state Senate would rename the school Utah Tech University, though it did come with a compromise provision that would keep the name Dixie on the main campus in St. George, located near the Arizona border.
The Republican-controlled chamber voted in favor of the idea after multiple students and executives from the burgeoning tech sector said the Dixie name is often met with confusion and distaste outside the state. The term got new scrutiny following a national outcry against racial injustice after the death of George Floyd.
“This process is not about cancel culture. No one is trying to erase the great history of this beloved institution,” said Republican Rep. Kelly Miles, who sponsored the name-change bill. “We as Utahns pride ourselves in our forward thinking … it just makes sense that our students in this great state will be better served by the name Utah Tech University.”
Still, the name enjoys vocal support in the local area who say it has an important meaning separate from the history of slavery. Dixie is a regional moniker referencing the South that dates back to when settlers with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints tried to make the area a cotton-growing mecca in the 1800s.
“It’s our soul in southern Utah,” GOP Rep. Walt Brooks said.
Dixie State had faced scrutiny in the past over its name but resisted changing it, and the Legislature earlier this year tapped the brakes on growing momentum to change it. Now, after months of additional study and discussion, supporters say it’s time to make the switch.
The measure passed overwhelmingly in the House, but could face more opposition as it crosses to the state Senate in the coming days.
