New survey asks for resident input on Dixie State University name change

ST. GEORGE, Utah– Lawmakers approved a name change of Dixie State University following concerns raised about the racist history and connotation behind the word ‘Dixie.’ Now, the Name Recommendation Committee, formed by the Board of Trustees at the university, is launching a survey asking for community input on what the new name of the school should be. 

The survey will be open from April 1-13 and is a way for “the committee to collaborate with residents of southwestern Utah, institutional partners and university faculty, staff, students and alumni, as the Utah State Legislature outlined in House Bill 278S01,” the University said in a statement Wednesday. 

Participants of the survey will be asked to rank personal importance on a series of factors and themes. There will also be a section for participants to leave comments not included in the survey. 

Once the survey is closed, committee members with review the responses and discuss possible name changes. To determine a new name, committee members will “scrutinize different name themes to consider strengths and weaknesses in areas such as trademark and website availability, uniqueness, compatibility to the institution’s history and academic focus, abbreviations and connotations.”

From there, the name options will be presented to stakeholders and will narrow down the search to a finalist theme. If the Board of Trustees approves of the selected name by the committee, the Utah Board of Higher Education will vote on the name with the chance to pass it along to the Utah State Legislature for a final vote. 

Residents who want to be involved in the name change process must submit their feedback by midnight on April 13. 

To participate in the survey and learn more about the university’s name recommendation process, visit dixie.edu/nameprocess.