U. researches a merger with Dixie College

ST. GEORGE — An affiliation proposal between Dixie State College and the University of Utah is moving ahead, although there are no formal recommendations at this point, according to an interim report presented to the Dixie board of trustees Friday.

"This has been a really exciting journey," said Chuck Wight, the U.'s associate vice president for academic affairs and co-chairman of a task force assigned to research the proposal. "Our task force has focused on gathering information, particularly from institutions that have undergone similar transformations and partnerships. What you'll find here is a snapshot of where we are in the process. You'll find opinions, advantages and disadvantages."

Visits to several schools in the Southeast that have undergone a change such as the one suggested between Dixie and the U. provided the task force with a good idea of how the plan could work, he said.

"So this is not a new process, there are benchmarks out there," said Shandon Gubler, chairman of the Dixie board of trustees. "It's nice to see there are real, live, breathing, working models at institutions that have gone through this process."

The interim report includes a historical timeline of the affiliation proposal, complete with Dixie's original "white paper" that started the process, the U.'s response letter and positive comments from people in the community. Case studies from the schools the team visited are also included, as are reports from other working groups of the task force.

The report does not include copies of letters or mention of comments critical of the idea or that question the process. Concerns over losing autonomy or the identity of Dixie State College if it merges with the U. have been raised by some alumni and donors since the idea first was raised.

"Dixie State College and the University of Utah are very different institutions," Wight said. "I don't know anybody who thinks it would be a great idea to create a miniature version of the U. of U. in St. George."

Donna Dillingham-Evans, Dixie vice president of academic services, co-chairs the joint affiliation task force with Wight. She said the two schools are already reaping the benefits of working together on the affiliation proposal.

"Each step of the way this has been nothing but how can we assist Dixie State College and how can we help you do what's best for the educational needs of the students," she said. "We have developed closer relationships between our libraries, music and art departments and the U. is delivering some economic structures for our business department so it can grow at a faster rate."