September 2012: Dixie State College Update

The article below if from an article I wrote for the Spectrum Newspaper in September 2012. Under outstanding leadership, and in cooperation with the Commissioner of Higher Education and the Board of Regents, Dixie State College has been working over the past several years to achieve the goals outlined in a benchmark study commissioned to aid its transition to university status. I am pleased to report that the college is very close to achieving those goals. These goals have been met in no small part because of Dixie State’s creative use of limited resources. Through digital learning and partnerships with other institutions the world has increasingly become our campus. For example, institutions like Harvard and MIT have put some of their very best programs on-line, and our students will continue to take advantage of these. Similarly, outreach programs at the University of Utah—and potentially Utah State and other institutions—provide our students access to specialty degree programs, some of which may only need to be offered once a year. Our students also enjoy a wider range of health care opportunities, thanks to a-partnership with Intermountain Health Care. This remarkable collaboration has provided great educational programs as well as employment opportunities, two of our area’s leading economic drivers. Such developments have allowed us to provide a complete college experience for students, while making the most of our education budget and maintaining the hometown atmosphere of our campus. Growth has also meant that we have been able to capture the tuition dollars necessary to expand our own programs, rather than allowing the money to go elsewhere. This, in turn, has made it possible to continue to expand the curriculum and to recruit a world-class faculty and staff. A city with a thriving institution of higher education has cultural and economic development opportunities not just for students, but the entire community. I anticipate that the additional degrees Dixie State needs for its new status will have the Regents’ approval before the end of 2012 and that the Board will vote to approve the change in January. This means that it is now time to formally begin the transition. To this end, I have opened a bill file for the 2013 legislative session, which will facilitate the change of Dixie State’s status from college to university. Senator Urquhart will be the Senate sponsor of the bill. I know the entire delegation from Washington County is very supportive of this transition and legislation and will be working through the upcoming legislative session to facilitate the bill’s passage. Hopefully this legislation will open the door to another century of success for an institution that has long been a great benefit to our community and region. Good luck to Dixie State as we work through this final transition and happy studying to all the students will benefit from expanded opportunities, classes and degrees!