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CAMPUS NEWS 2006
In addition, all offices on campus will remain closed Dec. 27-31, including the college’s information center. The college will resume normal business hours on Tuesday, Jan. 2. Dixie State College students will be on winter break until Monday, Jan. 8, when spring semester classes begin. Registration for classes without instructor permit will continue through Jan. 10. The last day to add a class for spring semester is Feb. 2, 2007. Registration can be done on the Internet at www.dixie.edu/reg and in person at the registrar’s office in the Student Services Center. For questions about registration, call 652-7708. For help selecting courses, call 652-7690. The section and corresponding lab, under the instruction of Dr. Tom McNeilis, will teach students to understand the structure of cells, tissues and organs at microscopic and ultramicroscopic levels. Students will also be able to identify various tissues from the samples characteristics. According to Dr. McNeilis, the section could also be a good supplemental course for middle and high school science teachers wanting to know more about the cell. For more information about the course, please call the DSC Science Department at 652-7760 or email Dr. McNeilis at mcneilis@dixie.edu. Students can register for spring semester courses at DSC now through the first few weeks of the semester, which begins Jan. 8, 2007. To register for the course or for the entire semester, please call 652-7701 or visit www.dixie.edu/reg. A complete list of course offerings is also available on the website. “This latest report confirms what people in Utah have known for years, that Dixie State College is one of greatest educational bargains in the country,” DSC President D. Lee Caldwell said. “When you couple the low costs with an extraordinarily well qualified faculty and deeply caring campus and community, you have a truly extraordinary institution. One where students matter and where students catch a glimpse of their potential and make major strides in achieving their most optimistic dreams.” Three other Utah schools ranked in the top-100 overall in in-state tuition and fees, including Weber State University (No. 58; $3,432), Southern Utah University (No. 72; $3,565) and Utah State University (No. 88; $3,799), while the University of Utah was listed No. 104 with a price tag of $3,948. Meanwhile, regional institutions UNLV (No. 66; $3,510) and Northern Arizona (No. 157; $4,545) finished among the top-160 on the list. “Tuition costs nationwide have risen faster than the rate of inflation,” explains vice president of student services Dr. Joe Peterson. “The proportion of public funding allocated to higher education has diminished and in this fiscal environment, Dixie State strives to maintain affordability. “This report puts Dixie State’s tuition costs in context,” Peterson added. “Despite recent increases, Dixie State remains a bargain.” Currently Dixie State College offers seven baccalaureate degrees, including biology, business administration, computer & information technology, communication and new media, elementary education, English and nursing, along with numerous associate degrees and certificates. The course and corresponding lab, taught by Dr. Curt Walker, will teach students to observe the natural behaviors of animals, including experimental design, ultimate and proximate causes of behavioral strategies, and current research in the field. Students will also be required to design and carry out their own experiment, and write it for publication. “If you have ever been interested in what animal behavior really involves, aside from Discovery Channel specials, register for this course and give it a shot,” Dr. Walker said. “I will especially emphasize the lab component of the course, which will involve field observations of local wildlife, along with laboratory experiments in behavior, both human and animal, which will include dog training among others. “In addition, I think this course is perfect for middle and high school science teachers wanting to do some simple science lab work and could be beneficial to education majors as well.” Potential students interested in the animal behavior course should have at least junior or senior standing and some other college biology course experience. For more information about the course, please call the DSC Science Department at 652-7760 or email Dr. Walker at walker@dixie.edu. Students can register for spring semester courses at DSC now through the first few weeks of the semester, which begins Jan. 8, 2007. To register for the course or for the entire semester, please call 652-7701 or visit www.dixie.edu/reg. A complete list of course offerings is also available on the website.
During his time at Dixie State, Professor Farrington will teach and work in the science department. His teaching will include a new course, “Introduction to Oceanography”, which will cover the essential principles of ocean sciences. “I am looking forward to coming to Dixie State College and sharing the excitement of oceanic discovery and knowledge of the ocean,” Dr. Farrington said. “Whether you live by the water or not, the fact is that the oceans are important to the lives of everyone. “I am also anxious to learn what goes on at Dixie State College and learning about the undergraduate activities as the college continues to grow.” Professor Farrington is a distinguished international expert in oceanography and has been recognized nationally for his extraordinary service as an advisor to the nation in matters of science, engineering and health. “Dixie State College and the Washington County area are privileged to have Dr. Farrington, a distinguished professor and research scientist, available to speak to various civic groups during the spring,” said Dr. David Borris, DSC dean of business, health, and technology. “We are excited to have the opportunity to share ideas and learn about the effects the oceans have on the world's ecosystems and the problems of getting various governments to address these global issues.” At WHOI, he served as vice president for academic programs and dean of graduate studies and has devoted his career at WHOI in chemistry, bio-organics and environmental sciences. He holds many honors in addition to a vast number of professional, academic and society affiliations and memberships. An abbreviated listing of some of John's interests includes leadership in educational, academic, and research organizations; education in the sciences – especially marine and environmental sciences; environmental quality; science-policy interactions; organic geochemistry of marine ecology; petroleum geochemistry; and biochemistry of marine organisms. Some of his teaching experiences include the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)/WHOI Joint Program, a graduate level program in Marine Organic Geochemistry, and a University of Massachusetts-Boston graduate level program in environmental geochemistry; organic geochemistry; and seminar in environmental geochemistry. Professor Farrington has published numerous reports, journals, book chapters and proceedings volumes, along with several U.S. Congressional testimonial appearances, and he has reviewed many books. He earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Chemistry from Southeastern Massachusetts University, and received his doctorate in Oceanography from the University of Rhode Island in 1972. In addition, Professor Farrington has embarked on 19 oceanographic cruises, including eight serving as chief scientist. “Introduction to Oceanography” is a three-credit course, which will satisfy a science elective at Dixie State College. The course will explore the ocean; how life in the ocean shapes the features of the Earth; and how it comprises two-thirds of the Earth’s biosphere. In addition, the course will cover the ocean’s influence on weather and climate and making Earth habitable
; the ocean’s support of a great diversity of life and ecosystems; and how the sustainability of ocean resources depends on the understanding of those resources and their potential and limitations. “Professor Farrington will be teaching a day and night course in oceanography that is open to the public for college credit or audit for those not needing credit,” Dr. Borris added. “Enrollment is currently taking place and this is a wonderful Christmas gift for those anxious to learn more about the oceans from the man who was involved with the discovery of life on the ocean bottom.” For more information about the course, please call the DSC Science Department at 652-7760 or email Dr. Borris at borris@dixie.edu. Students can register for winter semester courses at DSC now through the first few weeks of the semester. To register for the course or for the entire semester, please call 652-7701 or visit www.dixie.edu/reg. A complete list of course offerings is also available on t he website. NOTES: The Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute was involved with the development of the deep diving submersible “ALVIN” and the development of remote-operated underwater vehicles, which have found the deep smokers on the plate tectonic ridges with living organisms that live in an oxygen-free environment. In addition, those ROVs have found and confirmed the wreckage of the Titanic. The winners included Dawna Pedersen, a sophomore f rom H urricane, Utah, in the associate nursing program; Erin Wall, a sophomore from Bountiful, Utah, in art; Cyndia Johnson, a senior from St. George in the four-year nursing program; Ashley Soper, a junior from St. George in business accounting; Elizabeth Putnam, a sophomore from Santa Clara, Utah, in the certified nursing assistant program; Christina Anderson, a sophomore from Mountain View, Calif., in communication; Melissa Howes, a freshman from Beaver, Utah, in dance; Haylee Larson, a freshman from St. George in developmental composition; Janette Stratton, a freshman from St. George in developmental mathematics; and Matt Johnson; a freshman from Washington, Utah, in developmental reading. In addition, Sarah Henderson, a freshman from West Jordan, Utah, received the award in the area of education and family studies, as did Rachel Drake, a junior from St. George in elementary education; Kristy Hunt, a sophomore from Santa Clara in English (major); Alyssa Anderson, a freshman and high school senior from St. George’s Dixie HS in English (non-major); Jacob Vane, a sophomore from Washington, Utah, in foreign language; Denise Holladay, a sophomore from Hurricane in the licensed practical nursing program; Chris Burton, a sophomore from St. George in philosophy; Chad Wirig, a freshman from Highland, Utah, in political science; Shaun Ha, a freshman from Hurricane in psychology; and Nick Adams, a sophomore from St. George in science. DSC received a $20,000 grant from Utah’s State primary Care Grants Program which will go toward its dental hygiene services, while the College and SWCHC received an additional $20,000 from the state for the Center’s dental services to address the dental needs of the underserved and uninsured. Dixie State’s newly christened Mobile Dental Hygiene Clinic will be the centerpiece of the project under contract with the SWCHC. The clinic has four operatories on board and will serve Washington and Kane Counties in addressing the dental health needs of the community. The clinic will be utilized to reach transportation-limited populations of southwestern Utah, including visits to qualifying elementary school children, rest homes, Paiute reservations, and various community health centers. “This grant allows the Dental Hygiene Outreach Program at Dixie State College to provide dental hygiene service to the uninsured and underserved in our southern Utah communities,” said Dr. David Borris, dean of business, health, and technology. “The college's Community Outreach Program is focusing on poor children and mobility-limited seniors in rest homes and health care facilities.” The award decisions, made by the Utah Department of Health’s Office of Primary Care and Rural Health, were based on applicants who most effectively met statewide needs for primary health care services, as well as criteria established by State law and rules governing the grant program. Dixie State students Daniel Seegmiller, a sophomore English major from St. George; Felicia Corrie Bennett, a junior dental hygiene major from Heber City, Utah; Hilary Nielsen, a sophomore pre-nursing major from Ivins, Utah; and Timothy E. Thorley, a sophomore psychology major from St. George, were the four Dixie State students honored at the second-annual luncheon Nov. 9, hosted by Governor Jon M. Huntsman Jr. at the Governor’s mansion. “It was really fun to get to know the other students who have similar goals,” Nielsen said. “I was honored to be chosen and to be able to participate. It was a good experience and it has definitely motivated me to keep doing what I’m doing.” Now in its second year, the Governor’s Scholar Award is designed to encourage more Utah students, early in their college experience, to prepare and apply for prestigious post-graduate scholarships such as the Gates, Marshall, Truman, and Rhodes scholarships. "I thought it was pretty awesome to meet other students and leaders from the rest of the Utah schools and to get a feel for what they are doing," Seegmiller said. "I was honored to meet the Governor. It's great to know that he cares about education and it was special for me to be a part of it." Governor Huntsman honored four students from each of Utah's 11 colleges and universities who have demonstrated academic excellence in his or her first or second year of higher education. “It was a wonderful opportunity to meet the Governor,” Bennett noted. “I felt inspired and really supported to continue my education and it was great to meet others who have worked hard in school. I also hope that this honor can make a difference here at Dixie State College, especially in the [dental hygiene] program as it continues to grow.” In addition to the Governor’s remarks at the luncheon, the students heard from Dr. Chase Peterson, professor of medicine and president emeritus for the University of Utah, who encouraged the honorees to pursue academic excellence and civic engagement, including applying for prestigious scholarships for graduate studies. “These four students represent the brightest of possibilities for Dixie State College, Utah, and the country,” said vice president of academic services Dr. Donna Dillingham-Evans. “The possibilities for these students are unlimited and we are proud that they have chosen Dixie State College to further their educations.” Students and the public will receive free admission by donating one unwrapped gift, including toys or clothing, that will go toward making a needy child’s Christmas wish come true here in St. George and Washington County. The admission charge for those that do not bring a gift donation will be $10, with proceeds benefiting the St. George and Washington County “Coins For Kids” holiday campaign. Over his 45-year career with the Festival, he has directed 19 of Shakespeare's plays along with numerous other theatrical productions. Adams has received many awards with his work, including the 2000 Utah Theatre Association's Lifetime Service Award, the 1998 Institute of Outdoor Drama's Mark R. Sumner Award, and the First-Annual Governor's Award in the Arts in 1989. In addition, he and the festival won a Tony Award in 2000 for Outstanding Regional Theater.
Moorty, who grew up in Cedar City, holds academic degrees from Yale University and the University of Michigan, and learned the native dance of South India as a child in commuting back and forth from Utah to Los Angeles, Calif. Tuesday’s performance is her second visit to the DSC campus. “The last time Neela was here for a Dixie Forum, she kept us mesmerized,” Dixie Forum coordinator Terre Burton said. “From the moment she steps on stage, we are entranced at her costume, the beauty of the dance, and her knowledge of this classical form. We’re excited to have her back on campus.” The association received a generous $500 donation from Eagle Mountain Ranch to build a tree entry as part of its fall service project. The tree, decked out in DSC’s school colors or red and blue along with handprints from DSC preschool children, was then put on display at the festival and promptly dedicated as one of three trees that would be bought and donated to one of three local charities. The tree, which sold for $3,500 Friday, has been donated to the Doctor’s Free Clinic and will be displayed throughout the Holiday season, while the money raised was pledged to Intermountain Health Care Foundation, in honor of IHC’s donation of land for DSC’s new health sciences building located near the hospital and for financial aid provided for the school’s nursing program. The money will go to benefit DMRC’s Pediatric Services and NICU as well as help fund the Jubilee Home No. 2, which will provide housing for the hospital’s outpatients and families of patients. That facility, which is located on the River Road campus of DMRC, is currently under construction. “This semester we felt that we wanted to give back to IHC for all that they have given to Dixie State’s nursing program,” says Braydon Nielsen, president of Dixie’s Student Nurses Association. “We want to thank IHC for giving us a chance and believing in us. “Our theme for the tree was ‘Reaching for the Stars’. We wanted to keep an educational theme with a Christmas flare.” Nielsen, along with association vice president Camille Chandler, secretary Laura Lisonbee, treasurer Brady Golding, Becky Beard, Maria Siggs and Meagan Riddle, served as the design team. The DSNA was created this past September and has a membership of 70 students at Dixie State. The association is part of a national organization which helps promote the development of professionalism in nursing students. Nielsen notes that the DSNA has set a goal to do a service project in each semester this year to enhance the character building and professionalism of the association. “The true meaning of Christmas is to take the time and talents that each of us have been given and use them to help others,” Nielsen went on to say. “This was our goal to make to a difference in the lives of those we may never know, but need the help. We as nurses, want to make a difference in the lives of those around us and we felt that this was one way to help those in need. We truly feel that we did make a difference this year with a single Christmas tree.” The DSNA is currently working on a fundraiser to attend its organization’s national convention in Anaheim, Calif., next April. “This is an exciting opportunity for students with an interest in the sciences,” Dixie State President D. Lee Caldwell said. “We’re also thrilled that the project engages minority students. We have a large Hispanic population in Washington County, and we hope to target some of these bright young students and help them through the language barriers so that they can achieve academically and obtain careers in a science related field.” Dixie State has designed a joint-funded scholarship program between the college and the NSF’s S-STEM program (Scholarships in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics). The NSF’s funds will be focused on recruiting and funding need-based scholarships for first-year academically gifted underrepresented freshmen in the S-STEM disciplines. This project will allow the college to serve a greater number of incoming freshmen, an estimated 37 students overall, while it will increase the number of S-STEM graduates by 57 and with appropriate academic progress ensures their financial support through graduation with four-year degree. In addition, Dixie State will fund upper-division scholarships. “We’ve been having difficulty getting students to enter the sciences, and this was our reason for going after the NSF grant,” DSC Engineering Professor Dr. Vic Hasfurther said. “It was a competitive grant. You had to write t he propos al by a certain date, then you go through a review, then they call and ask many questions, and then they decide which schools receive the grants. We were competing with universities across the country for these dollars.” During this program the students will be engaged in collaborative learning opportunities including internships within industry, participation in discipline (i.e. engineering and computer science) club activities, and seminars presented to students by practicing professionals. An external industry advisory board will evaluate, advise and help promote the program. “The grant will support approximately 39 students for 2-4 years,” Dr. Hasfurther went on to say. “This is a four-year project grant; we’ll get so much money each year for these scholarships. For the fall of 2007, we’re trying to recruit mostly freshmen. We’re planning on giving 13 full ride scholarships, which will cover tuition, books and fees. As long as each student maintains a 3.0 GPA, the scholarship can continue for up to four years.” Prospective students who are incoming freshman, who are female or minority, and who maintain appropriate academic progress, are eligible for the program. For more information about the grant and program, contact Dixie State College Admissions Office at 435-652-7702.
Public Invited to Dixie State College Humanities Faculty Lecture The Dixie State College National Endowment for the Humanities Challenge Grant mandates that Dixie State College professors from across the curriculum and occasionally scholars and teachers from the community attend and participate in humanities-based seminars. These seminars are led by prominent national and international professors. According to Dr. Tim Bywater, Professor of English and Grant Seminar Director, “the NEH Grant has given Dixie State College faculty the opportunity to enhance their humanities education by meeting and learning from the finest humanities professors, experiencing cultural diversity, expanding personal and professional development, improving language skills, and gaining international experience.” Each year the NEH grant activity involves a rigorous academic seminar, the highlights of which are shared with the community. For further information, contact Tim Bywater at 652-7808 or bywater@dixie.edu “This will be a special event honoring our veterans and our founders of Dixie State College,” said George Whitehead, director of institutional advancement. “It will be a fantastic blend of patriotism and the “Dixie Spirit.” In addition to the spoken word, the program will include music from the Dixie State College Band, the Rebel Chorus, and the Dixie State College Chamber Singers. Dixie State’s Homecoming royalty will be introduced, and three new members of the Dixie State College Hall of Fame will be inducted. American Legion Post 90 will provide color bearers and color guard. A tribute to Veteran’s and Founder’s will be given by Thales A. "Tad" Derrick. He was born in Salt Lake City and graduated from South High School and attended the University of Utah prior to joining the United States Air Force. He earned his Air Force pilot wings and was commissioned a 2nd Lieutenant. He served as a fighter pilot for seventeen of his twenty years in the Air Force and flew 129 fighter combat missions in Vietnam. Tad received his bachelors degree in business management from the University of Nebraska and masters degree in systems management from USC. He finished his Air Force career with the Fighter Weapons School at Nellis Air Force Base. Follo wing his retirement from the Air Force, Tad's second career began at Dixie College where he enjoyed seventeen years serving as Dean of Instructional Support Services and as Associate Director of Institutional Advancement in securing needed funds for capital improvements. Mr. Derrick has served in numerous ecclesiastical leadership positions since his retirement from Dixie State College in 2000. He is married to Willa Nita Brooks and are the parents of five children, four of which are Dixie College graduates, and have 22 grandchildren. Dixie State College Ribbon Cutting For Mobile Dental Hygiene Clinic and Stephen & Marcia Wade Alumni House “The Mobile Dental Hygiene Clinic will give our dental hygiene students the opportunity to provide preventive dental procedures in areas of Southern Utah that have received little or no dental care in the past,” said Karmen Aplanalp, Interim Program Coordinator/Assistant Professor of DSC’s Dental Hygiene Program. “Educating our community on good oral hygiene care and how to prevent oral diseases will also be an important component to the service that is provided.” At 11:30 a.m. guests will proceed to the Stephen & Marcia Wade Alumni House located at 684 East 500 South. This home was formerly the College’s institutional residence and was occupied by Dr. Robert Huddleston and his family during his tenure as Dixie State College President. This venue serves as a gateway to the College for alumni, community members, businesses, clubs, schools, visitors, and churches. The facility is available to rent for weddings, receptions, meetings, and events. “Stephen & Marcia Wade have made a
significan
t leadership gift to endow the Alumni House,” said Christina Schultz, DSC’s Vice President of Institutional Advancement. “Dixie State College is eternally grateful to all the donors and partners who have supported our Mobile Dental Hygiene Clinic and the Stephen & Marcia Wade Alumni House. Their generosity and commitment is setting the pace for future private philanthropy at Dixie State College.” Dr. Caldwell was named the 16th president of Dixie State College on July 12, 2005. Prior to accepting this position, he worked at five different universities as a professor and administrator, and held executive level positions at three Fortune 500 high tech companies – Unisys, IBM, and Hewlett Packard. He also spent six years with Novell, Inc. In addition to his 13 years in the high tech industry, Caldwell had regular senior management interactions with global corporations such as Daimler Chrysler, British Telecom, Merrill Lynch, Royal Bank of Canada, General Motors, AOL Time Warner, and many others. Before coming to Dixie State, Caldwell served as the associate dean for undergraduate business programs at Georgia Tech University in Atlanta, Georgia. A licensed pilot, Caldwell was a navigator in the Air Force during the Vietnam War. He and his wife, Bonnie, are the parents of two children and have one granddaughter. The Kane Schools Foundation for Students and the Kanab Chamber of Commerce join Dixie State College in hosting Dr. Caldwell’s visit. Those interested in attending the event should RSVP via phone to Debbie at (435) 652-7509, via email to schultz@dixie.edu, or to Ed Meyer at info@kanabchamber.com by Monday, Nov. 13. "This is a great time of year, one we always look forward to," said Kalynn Larson, alumni association director at DSC. "Homecoming is not only a great tradition that alumni get excited about, but it’s a fun time for the entire community. We like to see everyone get involved, whether they’re a Dixie State alum or not." In addition to the customary events, this year will feature a few firsts. It is the first time a Rebel football team will compete in a Homecoming game at the Division II level. It is also the first year that the traditional Homecoming parade will double as the community’s Veterans Day parade as well. Homecoming activities get underway in earnest Tuesday, November 7, with the Homecoming Queen Pageant at 7 p.m. in the Cox Auditorium. The ten pageant entrants, Britta Anderson, Jakki Button, Jennica Debenha m, Brittany Edlefsen, Kaitlin Ensminger, Sara Mahoney, Camela Merkley, Aubrie Millard, MaCall Tanner, and Alicia Windsor, will compete in talent, on-stage question, swim suit, and evening gown categories. The eventual homecoming queen will automatically qualify for the Miss Utah Pageant. Cost is $10 for adults, $5 for students, faculty, and staff (with I.D.), and $3 for children. On Wednesday, November 8, at 3 p.m. DSC students will re-paint their huge D at the intersection of 300 South and 800 East on campus. The students will also host the annual Homecoming Powder Puff football game on Thursday, November 9, at 7 p.m. at Hansen Stadium. Activities on Friday, November 10 include the Alumni Assembly in the Eccles Concert Hall at 10:30 a.m., followed by the Golden Generation Luncheon at noon, where the class of 1956 will be inducted. Cost for the luncheon is $10. Friday evening at 7 p.m. is the 2 nd annual Decades of Dixie Reunion in the Old Gym where Dixie alumni can reconnect with old friends and classmates and enjoy refreshments. Later that evening at 8:30 p.m. the students are hosting a pre-game party at the amphitheater with head football Coach Ron Haun and the team. On Sat urday, November 11, the Homecoming/Veterans Day parade begins at 9 a.m. and will travel down Tabernacle Street from 300 East to 200 West. Following the parade, the Founder’s Day Assembly and Hall of Fame Inductions will be held at 10:30 a.m. in the St. George Tabernacle. At noon, the Alumni Association will host a tailgate party at the new Alumni House across the street from Hansen Stadium (684 East, 500 South). The party is free to all alumni and their families. Kickoff for the Homecoming football game is 1:00 p.m. at Hansen Stadium, where the Rebels will face the Raiders of Southern Oregon University. Tickets to the game are $6. The week wraps up Saturday night with the Homecoming Alumni Banquet at 7 p.m. in the Old Gym. This year’s keynote speaker will be alumnus and former Rebel football head Coach Sark Arslanian. Arslanian made his mark at Dixie in 1963 coaching the Rebels to the only undefeated football season in team history. Cost is $11. The Homecoming dance will follow at 9 p.m. in the Gardner Center Ballroom. Tickets are $10 in advance, or $15 at the door. Tickets for the Golden Generation Luncheon and Alumni Banquet may be purchased at the Alumni House (652-7538 or 652-7535) or by email: larson@dixie.edu
“It’s an embarrassment of riches,” explains Terre Burton, coordinator for the Dixie Forum series. “I was negotiating with both and this was the best day for both Cesspooch and Martin to come. Larry Cesspooch is visiting many Utah communities as a speaker for the Utah Council for the Humanities and Joe Martin will be speaking earlier in the day as part of SUU’s Convocation series. I didn’t want to say no to either one, so Dixie students will get a chance to hear both.”
Cesspooch grew up on the Uintah & Ouray Ute Reservation in Northeastern Utah. He takes care of one of the sweat lodges on the reservation and participates in the Ute Sundances, Bear Dances, and other ceremonies. After serving in Vietnam, Cesspooch attended the Institute of American Indian Arts in ’75, then graduated from the AnthropologyFilmCenter in ‘77, both in Santa Fe, N.M. He created the Ute Audio-Visual Department, the oldest tribal production group in the U.S. They documented the Ute Culture for 23 years, and their work has screened at international film festivals, including The Sundance Film Festival. His presentation, “A First Nations’ History of the Great Basin,” will give our audience a wonderful opportunity to learn about early Utah history as well as ideas that are still alive today.”
“Our other speaker, Dr. Joe Martin, offers the provocative title: “Give & Grow Rich,” says Burton. At the age of 24, Martin became the youngest faculty member ever hired to teach at a state university in Florida. He also has the distinct honor of being the youngest professor at his institution to ever be nominated twice for the "Distinguished Teacher’s Award." He has addressed more than 450 organizations, associations, businesses, colleges and universities, helping hundreds of thousands of students and staff members across the country achieve more, live and serve more passionately, and maximize their leadership potential. In 1999, the Association for the Promotion of Campus Activities selected Joe as its national "College Speaker of the Year." And in 2003, Campus Activities Magazine nominated him Joe as "Speaker of the Year."
Martin is also the founder and president of "RealWorldUniversity" (www.RWuniversity.com) - an award-winning college success web site designed to help students meet the personal and professional challenges of college and life, and the creator of NewTeacherSuccess.com - a web site designed to motivate, inform, and retain new teachers as they enter the field of education.
“When I talked to friends at SUU, I was told that Joe Martin’s presentation last year was so powerful that many of the 1100 students who heard him asked that he be invited back. I’m sure our students will be equally impressed,” says Burton.
The Dixie Forum presentations are free and open to the public. The noon program with Larry Cesspooch called “A First Nations’ History of the Great Basin” will be in the Dunford Auditorium at noon. Dr. Joe Martin speaking on “Give and Grow Rich” will be in the Eccles Concert Hall at 7:30 P.M. Both will be on October 3rd.
For further information contact Terre Burton at burton@dixie.edu or at 652-7812. “In this, the second Dixie Forum of the fall, we’ll get a chance to learn how the move to the NCAA is going to impact students, the institution, and the future of DSC,” said Terre Burton, the coordinator of the Dixie Forum series. DSC student athletes currently comprise a
lmost 10 perce
nt of the full-time student body at the college, and Irvin believes that student-athletes may soon account for one-half of all bachelor’s degrees granted by Dixie State as early as 2008. He also believes that some might be surprised at just how strong a positive force the transition to the NCAA will be to the academic climate of the Dixie State campus. Eckroth came to Dixie State last year after serving as head women’s basketball coach at the University of New Mexico. Irvin has doubled as head women’s basketball coach at DSC before recently dedicating all of his time to directing the athletic department’s shift to the NCAA. Irvin has been the athletic director at DSC for the past seven years. The event is free and open to the public. For further information contact Terre Burton at Burton@dixie.edu. The remainder of the fall Dixie Forum schedule will be as follows. All forums will be Tuesdays at noon in the Dunford Auditorium, unless otherwise specified: Oct 3 Larry Cesspooch ~ “A First Nations’ History of the Great Basin” Oct 3 Dr. Joe Martin ~ “Give & Grow Rich” (in the Eccles Concert Hall at 7:30 P.M.) Oct 17 Mark Sedon ~ “The Decline & Fall of Journalism & The Rise of the New Media” (in the Eccles Main Stage Theatre at 7:00 P.M.) Oct 24 Dr. John Jones ~ “Obedience & Dissent” Oct 31 Carol Lynn Pearson ~ “Circling the Wagons” Nov 7 Dr. Brent Hanson ~ “What the Dickens: You, too, Can Be a Designer” Nov 14 DSC International Students ~ “Love Makes the World Go Round” (Starts at 12:30 P.M.) Nov 16 KUED ~ “Maynard Dixon: To the Desert Again” (in the Dunford Auditorium at 7 P.M.) Nov 21 Penelope & Tim Eicher ~ “Ancient Wisdom for our Troubled Times” Nov 28 Neela Moorty ~ “Classical Dance of South India” (in the Eccles Concert Hall at 7:30 P.M.)
Terre Burton, coordinator for the Dixie Forum: A Window on the World series is delighted to welcome Dr. Harris back to the DSC campus where he taught before accepting his current position in Colorado. “Matt was a wonderful member of our faculty,” Burton said. “I’m sure friends and former students will be delighted to hear him speak about one of his favorite topics, the Constitution. Those who haven’t had a chance to listen to him before should take the opportunity to join us on campus for this important address celebrating “Constitution Day.” The title of his address is “Ten Things Americans Don’t Know About the Constitution.” Dr. Harris has published numerous articles and essays on the Constitution and the founding era. His writings focus on the revolutionary origins of American constitutionalism, race and the Founding Fathers, and religion and politics during the formation of the new American republic. His book, The Founding Fathers and the Debate Over Religion in Revolutionary America, will be published by Oxford University Press in 2008. His second book, a collection of essays on the American explorer Zebulon Pike, will be published in 2007 by the University Press of Colorado. A native of Maine, Dr. Harris earned his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in history from Brigham Young University, and his Doctorate, also in history, from the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University. For more information on Dixie Forum, call Terre Burton at 435-652-7812.
The program will be held Monday, Sept. 11 at Hansen Stadium on the DSC campus (along 700 East) and will begin at 7:30 p.m. The program will feature several speakers and musical numbers, color guard and 21-gun salute by local fire and police officers, a slide show tribute, and a moment of silence/candle ceremony. The speakers will include Jed Townsend (Triple Deuce member), Lenae Warr (mother of eight and wife of a Triple Deuce member), and Camille Mortenson, whose brother was killed in the Pentagon attack. The Dixie High School Choir, Dixie College Chamber Singers, and other DSC students will perform musical numbers. The theme for the event is “United We Still Stand.” Admission is free. “We really do want this to be a community event. We have men and women from our community serving in the military,” said ASDSC service vice president Kristalyn Wood. “This date in history is now a part of what our country is today and shouldn’t be forgotten. It’s something that affected all of us, even right here locally.” In the weeks to follow, DSC students will spearhead a service project in which they will assemble care kits for military troops containing snack items, hygiene products, coffee, wet wipe s, handheld games, batteries, envelopes, pens, paper, and other items. Donation drop-off boxes for these items will be located at the stadium entrance prior to the event for those wishing to donate to this cause. Students will also be collect “beanie babies” that troops can distribute to children. “Just like any person in a foreign country, it’s nice to hear from home, which is why we’re doing the care kits,” Wood said. Students will also be selling yellow ribbon pins, which will help with shipping fees. For more information regarding this event, call the DSC Student Council at 652-7517.
In addition to teaching business classes this upcoming school year, former president Dr. Robert Huddleston has been charged with creating an Institute for Business Integrity on campus, which, among other things, will host a bi-monthly noontime Business and Ethics Forum every other Thursday on the DSC campus beginning Aug. 31. DSC students, the entire Washington County business community, and the general public are all invited to attend. Admission is free. The college’s business program is currently seeking initial accreditation with the high profile Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB). In order to become accredited with the AACSB, ethics must be integrated into the college’s business curriculum. As a result, each business class on the DSC campus will now include an ethical component. The business forums will give students – and current and prospective local business owners – an added dose of ethics training that is so sorely needed into today’s business world, Huddleston said. “It’s crucial that our business graduates leave here with the wherewithal to deal effectively with ethical situations,” Huddleston said. “The trap people fall into is they say, ‘I don’t need that – I know right from wrong.’ But nobody is immune. Everybody, regardless of position, is faced with ethical decisions in their job. The key is to have an ethical system in place – not a 10 commandments of do’s and don’ts.” Another common trap, Huddleston said, is basing a decision on whether or not the outcome is legal or not. That, Huddleston said, is how the Enrons of the business world – and their accomplices – get into hot water. “Over 85,000 people no longer work for Arthur Anderson – once the fifth biggest accounting firm in the country – due simply to their auditor’s inability to say, ‘No, you can’t do it that way,’” Huddleston said. By the time students leave Dixie State College, Huddleston hopes students will have been exposed to enough ethical cases that, when they get out in the workforce, they will have the wherewithal and the intestinal fortitude to do the right thing, even when their job might be on the line. He believes the fall semester line-up of speakers will give students and business owners just that. The fall Business & Ethics Forum schedule kicks off Thursday, Aug. 31 at noon in the Udvar-Hazy Business Building (Boeing Auditorium, RM 121) with Bruce Wisan, who is currently serving as Special Fiduciary to the United Effort Plan Trust. Wisan is also a certified public accountant and has been appointed by a District Court Judge to manage a $110 million trust that deals with the communities of Hildale, Utah, and Colorado City, Ariz. Each speaker throughout the year will speak on business matters in thei r respective professions and has been asked to integrate ethics into the discussion. “I’m really excited about the line-up of speakers we have this fall,” Huddleston said. “We have a good variety of small and large businesses and organizations involved, and everybody I asked to speak agreed to. These aren’t featherweights we’re talking about – each is a heavyweight in this game.” The remainder of the forum schedule is as follows: Sept. 14 Brad Rich, Executive Vice President for Finance at SkyWest Airlines Sept. 28 Terri Kane, CEO of Dixie Regional Medical Center (DRMC) Oct. 12 Paul Broadhead, Manger of Wells Dairy (Blue Bunny Ice Cream) Nov. 2 Scott Gubler, President & CEO of Deseret Laboratories, Inc. Nov. 30 Randy Wilkinson, President of Wilkinson Electric, Inc. and Ace Mechanical Contractors Huddleston is currently working on the schedule of speakers for spring semester as well and expects the forum to be an annual occurrence. He hopes one day to see the college host something on a regional or national stage. The Dixie State College Institute for Business Integrity is a partnership between the college, the Small Business Develo pment Center, the Washington County Economic Development Council, and the St. George Area Chamber of Commerce. For questions regarding the DSC Institute for Business Integrity forums, contact Bob Huddleston at: huddleston@dixie.edu or 435-652-7740.
Each year, revenue generated through SITLA is distributed to each college and university in the state in proportion to the number of teachers each produces each year. Approximately $250,000 will be divided among six institutions of higher education this year. The distribution is slated to be an annual occurrence. “I am pleased to deliver the first in what will be a perpetual stream of income to Dixie State College for its college of education,” said Kevin Carter, Dir ector of the State of Utah School and Institutional Trust Lands Administration. “There will be a distribution to the college every year from now on to assist in funding the education of teachers. No money we generate could go to a more worthy cause.” Created in 1994 by the state legislature, the School and Institutional Trust Lands Administration is an independent agency of the state government that manages 12 real estate trusts with the mission of providing financial support for public schools and 11 other beneficiary institutions. The trust lands were granted to the state of Utah by the federal government when it became a state in 1896. The interest and dividend earnings generated from the trusts are distributed to 12 beneficiaries on an annual basis, one of which is the Normal School (currently comprised of the colleges and universities in the state that offer education degrees). Originally, 100 percent of higher education’s share benefited the University of Utah. Senate Bill 120 – sponsored by Sen. Tom Hatch, Dist. 28 – now requires that the revenue be distributed across the entire Utah System of Higher Education to benefit education programs. The trust lands are scattered throughout the state and are sold from time to time. In fact, more than one-half of the original land grant has been sold, much of it during the first 35 years following statehood. About 30 percent of all private lands in Utah were originally trust lands. Money from the management of trust lands comes from a variety of different sources. At this time, the largest source of trust land revenue is oil and gas – about 63 percent of all revenues. This annual infusion of revenues moves SITLA closer to its goal of $1 billion in total assets by the end of fiscal year 2010. The ultimate goal of the Trust Lands Administration is to make the school lands’ trust a major source of public school funding. “This is a nice boost to our program, and we are extremely pleased to be able to benefit from the Normal School distribution on an ongoing basis,” said Dr. Brenda Sabey, director of elementary education at Dixie State College. “This funding will be put to good use and will be an essential component of meeting the educational needs of Washington County.” Sabey plans to discuss spending options with her faculty members when they return for fall semester. Dixie State College has offered a baccalaureate level elementary education program since 2002. The degree includes a built-in ESL (English as a Second Language) endorsement, the first program of its kind in the state. Originally, a cohort group of approximately 30 students was admitted to the program annually. Currently, the program admits two cohort groups each fall and, as a result, will graduate between 50-60 students in Spring 2007, which is about double the number that graduated in Spring 2006.
The program will prepare DSC students majoring in a given subject – including biology and English – to also become certified to teach that subject at the secondary level. All classes for the program will be available on Dixie State College’s campus. With the exception of a few courses that may be taught by SUU faculty, the majority of the secondary education classes will be taught by Dixie State College education faculty. “This partnership is critical at this time because it means that students in Washington County can immediately begin pursuing their secondary certification without waiting for state approval for Dixie State College to grant certification itself,” said Dr. Don Hinton, dean of education, humanities, arts, and social sciences. “It also means that any of our students who complete bachelor’s degrees can graduate jointly with those degrees and a secondary education teaching certification.” Those wishing to teach in secondary education must have a degree in a specific discipline and the course work required for secondary education. When students graduate, they will graduate with a content area bachelor’s degree (English, communication, biology, etc.) from Dixie State and secondary education certification from SUU, Hinton said. Two classes associated with the new joint program will be available on the DSC campus this upcoming fall semester, which begins Tuesday, Aug. 22. The classes include: EDUC 1010 (Introduction to Education) and EDUC 2010 (Introduction to Exceptionalities). There are no prerequisites to these two courses. To register for these courses, students can visit http://w ww.dixie.edu/reg/fall2006.html. Applications for acceptance in SUU’s Secondary Education Program will be collected from those who enroll in either course. For more information, please contact Dr. Brenda Sabey at 435-652-7841or sabey@dixie.edu; Deborah Connolly at 652-7842 or connolly@dixie.edu ; or the Advisement Office at 652-7690.
The College is also curr
ently working cooperatively with Southern Utah University this fall to offer a secondary teacher licensure program, which will operate hand-in-hand with the English and biology degrees, and other programs, to prepare DSC students to teach these subjects at the secondary level. Dixie State’s current emphasis on teaching degrees is due in part to the growth of Washington County School District, which has projected that it will need 1,200 additional teachers by 2015, including double the number of secondary math, science, and English teachers. Compounding the issue is an anticipated 20 percent retirement/replacement level each year within the District. As a result, Washington County School District has specifically requested that DSC develop degrees in biology, math, and English. Other data indicate that 46 percent of the teachers in Utah are currently prepared outside of the state and that 42 percent of the teachers in Utah will be eligible for retirement over the next 10 years. “This is a major step toward meeting the economic needs of Washington County,” said Dr. Donna Dillingham-Evans, vice president of academic services. “These degrees were so high on our priority list due to the fact that Washington County so desperately needs English and biology teachers, not to mention other areas. It’s a critical need of the school districts in our service area to provide these degrees.” Students wishing to major in biology and English can begin taking upper division classes that are applicable to the English and biology degrees this upcoming fall semester, given they have taken the prerequisites to those courses. For prerequisite course information, students can contact the advisement center at 435-652-7690. The new programs will NOT operate on a cohort basis in which a predetermined number of students are admitted to a given program each year or semester (as is the case with DSC’s elementary education and nursing baccalaureate programs). English and biology majors will simply need to take the necessary prerequisites before beginning upper division coursework. In addition to teaching careers, biology and English degrees – both of which are considered core degrees – also serve as a steppingstone to advanced degrees for many students. Forty-five percent of all English majors go on to earn a graduate degree. In addition, students who major in English are prepared for careers in education, law, writing and publishing, journalism, public relations, advertising, business, and management, among others. Biology oftentimes serves as a preparatory degree to further studies in the health arena, particularly for students who go on to medical, dental, and pharmacy schooling. Because a biology degree opens the door to such a large number of career options, a very large portion of DSC’s student body has declared the biology major (even though DSC hasn’t offered a biology degree up until now). Of the approximately 4,800 degree-seeking students at Dixie State in Fall 2004, 189 were declared biology majors. Dixie State now offers bachelor’s degrees in seven (7) areas of study, but today’s action marked the first time two degrees have been approved simultaneously. In 2000, Dixie College became Dixie State College and was granted license to begin offering bachelor’s degrees in high demand areas, which initially included business administration and computer & information technology. Several other degrees have since followed, including elementary education (2002), nursing (2004), and communication & new media (2005). In 2005, the Board of Regents approved a change in mission for Dixie State College, allowing the college to begin offering bachelor’s degrees in “core” or “foundational” areas consistent with four-year colleges. Dixie State College also continues to function as a comprehensive community college as well, offering associate degree and certificate programs to its students. The overall strategic goal for Dixie State College is to offer core and high demand educational opportunities at both the associate and baccalaureate levels that are consistent with and responsive to the needs of the community. Future programs for Dixie State College will likely center in three primary strategic clusters, which include business & technology, health care & public safety, and education. These clusters cover a comprehensive set of needs identified for the dramatic growth and on-going development in Washington and Kane Counties, Dillingham-Evans said. Students interested in more information regarding the new English and biology programs call 435-652-7590 or visit www.dixie.edu. “It felt really good to do something for the college,” Webb said. “It was great to get such an honor. I didn’t expect it.” Extemporaneous Speaking candidates were given five minutes to come up with a speech on a specific topic. They were then allowed up to five minutes to give their speech. Webb competed against 21 other candidates from across the United States. Over 13,000 students and advisers attended the national conference, competing in over 80 different categories. Webb chose extemporaneous speaking because she competed in debate at Snow Canyon High School. She plans to complete her education at Dixie State College and then possibly continue her schooling in the area of law. SkillsUSA, formerly VICA, is a national organization serving over a quarter-million high school and college students and professional members in technical, trade, industrial, and health occupations education. Two other Dixie State College students qualified for nationals by winning gold in their respective categories at the state competi tion. Jeremy Luke comp eted in Graphic Communications and Charlie Iverson in Power Equipment Technology. Adam Eaton represented the college and state as a Utah delegate. Eaton is also a state officer this upcoming academic year and has plans to run for national office at the 2007 national competition. The Dixie State SkillsUSA-VICA chapter is advised by Mel Jensen, Robert McMicken, and Jay Slade.
The 78,000 square foot facility will sit on the new River Road campus of IHC subsidiary Dixie Regional Medical Center (DRMC) in St. George, located approximately two miles from the Dixie State campus. The four-acre site at the base of Medical Drive has been donated to the college by IHC and the Foremaster family of St. George. Project completion is expected by January 2008 in conjunction with the start of spring semester, said Stan Plewe, vice president of college services. “To me, the significance of this project is that Dixie State College has gone from offering no health science programs in the early ‘90s to a 78,300 square foot building that will now house some of the finest health science programs in the state, thanks to help from the state and donations from the local community,” Plewe said. “It also signifies our first major offsite partnership location that will allow us to take education to a site where students will have an incredible opportunity to get some of the best training available right in DRMC’s backyard.” The new facility, which will also double as a training facility for DRMC, will house programs in nursing – including registered nursing, practical nursing, and nursing assistance – dental hygiene, emergency medical services, medical radiography, respiratory therapy, surgical technology, and phlebotomy. According to Dr. David Borris, dean of business, health, and technology, the timing couldn’t be better. “Our dental hygiene graduates will increase by 100 percent due to these expanded facilities,” said Dr. David Borris, dean of business, health, and technology. “We have expanded our nursing program and are temporarily using multiple buildings on campus to accommodate 300 percent growth in our nursing programs over the past three years. The Russell Taylor Health Science Building will also accommodate the anticipated additional growth in our nursing program.” The facility will also have space to accommodate programs in other high demand health care fields, Borris said, such as physical therapy assisting and medical laboratory technology. In addition to the donated land, Russell and Joyce Taylor and Mervyn and Sue Cox have provided significant donations to this project. Private donations for the new facility total in excess of $3.5 million thus far. Over $17 million has been funded by the state, but the private donations laid the groundwork to securing the state funding. “There’s no doubt in my mind that the college would not have gained approved for this facility from the state had it not been for the generous donors who stepped forward,” said Christina Schultz, vice president of institutional advancement. “That sent a message to the state that there is a true need for this facility in this community and that the community wants to be vested in a facility such as this. That kind of community involvement makes all the difference in the world when we go to the state and request a new facility.”
“Dr. Gordon Jennings made a significant impact on the lives of those who worked with him. The students in the dental hygiene program have had their lives changed by his mentorship,” said Dr. David Borris, dean of business, technology and health. “He and the faculty he hired built the dental hygiene program from a dream to one of the top ranked programs in the country.” Jennings created the college’s dental hygiene program from scratch in 1998. He led the program to national prominence almost immediately. Since graduating its first class in 2000, the program’s students have scored in the top 10 percent or better among all two-year and four-year programs in the nation on the National Board Dental Hygiene Exam. Plans are currently in the works for the program to make a leap from the associate level to the baccalaureate level, which is currently being considered by the Utah State Board of Regents. Both were goals of Jennings’ from the outset according to Karmen Aplanalp, interim coordinator of dental hygiene, who has worked with Jennings since 1998. “He was very inspirational — a real visionary,” said Aplanalp. “You can tell that by the goals that we had at the very beginning. He didn’t let boundaries stop him. Whenever someone would say, ‘You can’t do that,’ he would say, ‘Watch me, I’ll find a way.’ He was so creative to find ways to get things accomplished. He never let ‘no’ be the final answer – he found a way to accomplish his vision.” Another of Jennings’ goals, Aplanalp said, was to start an outreach dental hygiene program. That vision will soon lead to the development of a mobile dental clinic at Dixie Stat e to help train dental hygienists in community health care and provide needed dental hygiene care to the economically disadvantaged, elementary school children, and mobility impaired senior citizens. The legacy Jennings will leave for the program will also soon include a new health science facility, which he helped inspire. Each of the college’s health sciences programs will enter the new Russell Taylor Health Sciences Building in January of 2008, which will allow the college to double the number of dental hygiene graduates annually. “Gordon’s vision has been and continues to be realized,” Borris continued. “His work and his students’ accomplishments are a living tribute to Dr. Jennings.” Dr. Jennings’ funeral services will be held Saturday, June 17 at 11 a.m., at the 6th Ward chapel on 100 North and Valley View Drive. There will be a viewing at 9:30 a.m.
In the early 1980s, scientists found an interesting, but fragmentary fossil (an incomplete hind leg) of very early birds in an ancient lake bed in the remote town of Changma, located about 2,000 kilometers west of Beijing. In the summer of 2004, Harris and his colleagues – Dr. Hai-lu You of the Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences and Carnegie Museum of Natural History paleontologist Dr. Matt Lamanna – began quarrying in that area and have found literally dozens of specimens, mostly of birds, but also some turtles, salamanders, plants, insects, and a lot of fish. Most notably, the scientists have discovered approximately 40 well-preserved fossils of the ancient bird Gansus yumenensis that date back approximately 110 million years ago to the Early Cretaceous period. The fossils reveal that Gansus is the oldest known member of the Ornithurae – the group that includes all modern birds and their closest extinct relatives – and is the most evolutionarily advanced bird ever discovered. The discovery is the subject of an article in today’s issue of the journal Science. “In general, the bird fossils that we’re finding are very unlike – and much more advanced than – any bird fossils from that time period that have been found anywhere in the world before,” Dr. Harris said. The discovery helps fill gaps both in time and on the evolutionary tree leading to modern birds, Harris said. The age of Gansus puts it in a period of time in which no other good bird fossils are known. Its position on the evolutionary tree is more advanced and closer to modern birds than even some younger bird fossils, which indicates the relatively fast rate at which “modern” bird features evolved and how long ago many of them first began appearing, Harris said. The fossils are extremely well preserved and include such detail as fossilized feathers and webbed skin between the toes, suggesting that today’s birds may have had aquatic origins. Gansus likely lived a lifestyle similar to what would be stereotyped today as being duck or stork-like, Harris said, and was probably a foot-propelled diver. “Most bird fossils are very, very fragmentary,” Harris said. “Finding bird fossils that are very complete and still three-dimensional is extremely rare. Finding fossil birds that tell us so much about the origins of modern birds is even more rare. “The fossils themselves are absolutely exquisite,” Harris continued. “Most fossil birds that are nearly as complete are split between two slabs of rock, making it hard to see important anatomical details, but you can see virtually everything in our specimens.” The team’s findings were also the subject of a recent documentary, “Rise of the Feathered Dragons,” which debuted on the Science Channel in February. The hour-long documentary is slated to air again on the Science Channel Monday June 19 at 7 p.m. MST. Funding for the Changma research was provided by the Discovery Quest program for The Science Channel, Carnegie Museum of Natural History, Dixie State College of Utah, the Chinese Geological Survey of the Ministry of the Land and Resources of China, and the Ministry of Science and Technology of China. Dr. Harris has taught science courses at Dixie State College since 2004. He teaches Introduction to Geology and Introduction to Dinosaurs. He also works closely with the City of St. George and the new Dinosaur Discovery Site at Johnson Farm in St. George. Harris holds a doctorate in earth and environmental science from the University of Pennsylvania, a master’s degree in geology from Southern Methodist University and a bachelor’s degree in geoscience from the University of Colorado at Boulder.
Snow was laid to rest Saturday at the Pine Valley Cemetery this past weekend. A memorial service was also held Monday in Provo. "We have been honored to serve with one of Dixie's homegrown favorite sons. R.J. Snow’s wealth of knowledge, experience, judgment, and his intense interest in Dixie State College has provided a steadying influence to the institution during his service on the board," said Jeannine Holt, vice chair of the Dixie State College Board of Trustees, who grew up with Snow. " R.J. worked in some very prestigious positions over the years and has had a very decorated career, but every person was important to him regardless of rank or position. That has always been his hallmark – he truly cared about people. It's a devastating blow to lose him, not just to Dixie State College and all of higher education in Utah, but to anyone who had the good fortune to know him. This scholarship is our small way of paying tribute to a giant of a man." Snow attended Dixie College as a student in 1956 and 1957 and served as student body president. He served the 2005-06 academic year as a member of the college’s board of trustees. His father, Glenn E. Snow, served as president of the college for over a decade from 1938 to 1950. Snow’s career in higher education spanned well over 30 years. He held several positions at both the University of Utah and Brigham Young University. With retirement nearing, Snow was slated to teach his final semester in BYU’s political science department this summer, where he has taught since 2000. Prior to that, he served for two years as director of the BYU Jerusalem Center for Near Eastern Studies in Israel. He began his career at BYU in 1990 as student life vice president and later served as advancement vice president. Snow worked as assistant to th e president at the University of Utah beginning in 1971, then simultaneously as vice president for university relations and director of the Hinckley Institute of Politics and associate professor of political science. In addition, he also held positions at the University of California Santa Barbara and at the University of Bordeaux in France. The Dixie State community continued to mourn Snow’s loss this week. President Lee Caldwell ordered that all campus flags be flown at half-mast as a tribute to Snow through the end of memorial services, which ended yesterday. "RJ’s passing is a tremendous loss to us,” said Dr. Caldwell. “I would be hard pressed to name anyone in the state with more experience in higher education than R.J. With his added global perspective, he was extremely valuable to our board. R.J. was renowned for his gentle intelligence, and that’s a good way of describing his contribution as a trustee." Those wishing to donate to the R.J. Snow scholarship fund can call (435) 652-7509, email forman@dixie.edu, or send correspondence to Dixie State College located at 225 South 700 East in St. George, Utah (84770) in care of the college’s institutional advancement office. Most recently, Kristensen was the head women’s basketball coach at College of Saint Mary (CSM) in Omaha, Nebraska. She has been at the helm of the Flames since 2002. During her tenure at CSM she led them to their first NAIA National Tournament birth and a sweet 16 appearance in the program’s history. Due to her success at CSM she was named MCAC coach of the year in 2004. Prior to being named the head women’s basketball coach at CSM, she spent four seasons at Northwest Missouri State University, a NCAA Division II school. Coach Kristensen was an assistant coach for two years and another two years as a graduate assistant coach. During her time at NWSU she was named by the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association as the Graduate Assistant of the Year. Dixie State Athletic Director Dexter Irvin said, “I was impressed with her enthusiasm and professionalism and I look forward to the continued development and success of the women’s program.” During her collegiate playing days at Briar Cliff University, she scored over 1000 points and grabbed over 1000 rebounds while amassing a 125-15 record. She was also a member of the softball team, earning NAIA All-American honors. Kristensen graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Health, Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance in 1999 from Briar Cliff University. She later earned her master’s degree in science education with emphasis in physical education in 2001 from Northwest Missouri State University. This year’s “Outstanding Freshman Student Award” went to Huck Stewart, from St. George. Stewart has been an ambassador with the college’s recruitment office. In addition, he is a member of the Chamber Choir, and has been on the Dean’s list. He was also a runner-up in the Mr. Dixie pageant. Winning the “Outstanding Sophomore Student Award” was Nicole Alsop, from Salt Lake City. She has worked tirelessly in the Career Resource Center and was very important to both the college’s employment fair and to the career day. She has also found time to participate in all of DSC’s campus service projects and still get enough homework done to be named to the Dean’s list. Amy Skousen, from Riverton, Utah, received this year’s “Distinguished Service Award,” awarded for significant contributions to the college without receiving recognition or remuneration. She has served as a college ambassador for two years and was the group’s president, working behind the scenes recruiting prospective students. The “Achievement of the Year Award,” given to a student who has made unusual sacrifices to gain a higher education, went to Vivian Scheltinga from Maracajo, Brazil. She came to the U.S. on a basketball scholarship with no knowledge of the English language and was forced to learn English while taking college courses simultaneously. Lacee Salazar, from St. George, received this year’s “Personality of the Year Award,” which awards, among others, school spirit, activity support, and school involvement. She has served as academic vice president for ASDSC, as administrative assistant to ASDSC, has been a member of the Institute Council, on the Dean’s list, and received a Spirit D Award. Last year she won the Outstanding Sophomore Rebel Award. Jerris Heaton, from Hurricane, Utah, and Mitch Symes, from St. George, were co-winners of this year’s “Dixie Spirit Award.” Heaton was named Mr. Dixie award at this year’s homecoming. He has also been named Student of the Semester, won the Spirit D award, and has been named Student of the Year by the Hurricane Chamber of Commerce. He is also president of the swing club, has been the multimedia chair for the student council, and has worked as a technician for our IT department. Syme s has played an active roll at sporting events as part of the Rebel Crew and as an honorary cheerleader. He donned the mascot costume in the homecoming parade. Symes has also been instrumental in bring back the pep band to DSC, formatting the Spread the Red movement, and encouraging everyone to dress in red for Rebel Red Fridays. Blair Jorgensen, St. George, received the “Scholar Athlete Award.” Jorgensen excels both on and off of the soccer field. She was a co-captain of this year’s soccer team, and was also named an Academic All-American. In addition, she earned the very prestigious Governor’s Scholar Award. Five Rebel Awards were also given for exemplary performance in each of the college’s five baccalaureate programs. Winning the “Outstanding Business Student” award was Stephen Adam, from St. George. Cheri Maxwell, from St. George, was recognized as “Outstanding Elementary Education Student.” John Lawton, from Toquerville, a computer and information technology major, was the recipient of the “Outstanding CIT Student” award. Teresa Mitchell, from St. George, was this year’s “Outstanding Nursing Student.” And Christina Phelps, from Brigham City, Utah, was named “Outstanding Communication & New Media Student.” The “Outstanding Teacher Award,” went to Tim Eicher, chairman of the education and family science department. And Chris Taylor, director of public relations, received this year’s “Distinguished Service Staff Award.” Also recognized at the ceremony were the college’s 2005-06 valedictorians (highlighted in a separate article) and honors graduates. The ASDSC Officers for the upcoming 2006-07 academic year were also introduced. Lance Adams was sworn in as ASDSC president and Abraham Thiombiano will serve as vice president. “We’ve competed in this competition a long, long time – decades even – but our students were particularly successful this year,” said business department chair Dr. Philip Lee, who has advised the Dixie State DEX chapter for 27 years and was named National Advisor of the Year at the competition. &ldquo ;Business students from all across the country and Canada were involved, so this really is a tremendous accomplishment for these students and a good barometer as to how our students stack up nationwide.” Contest winners at the state level from colleges and universities throughout the U.S., Canada, and Puerto Rico competed in approximately 20 different marketing and management events at the competition. To qualify for the national conference, students had to place first, second, or third in their respective categories at the state level. Most notably, Jennifer deVilliers, a senior computer & information technology major from St. George, won first place honors in the nation in the Web Page Design event, with Craig Cardall, a senior business administration major from Salt Lake, taking second in the nation in the Marketing Management event. Six other DSC students were named finalists (finished in the top 10) in their respective categories, including John Berger, a senior from Santa Clara, Sales Manger Meeting; Skyler Christensen, a senior business administration major from Santa Clara, E-Commerce Decision Making; David Kreitzer, a junior computer & information technology major from Washington County, Web Page Design; Timothy Provost, a senior business administration major from Ogden, Financial Services; Stanton Roseman, a senior from Spanish Fork, Entrepreneurial Challenge; and Kathy Tanasz, Travel & Tourism. Both Berger and Roseman are repeat finalists from the previous year. Cardall and Jessica Bueno – both DEX officers at the chapter and state level respectively in 2005-06 –received National Collegiate Education Awards for their high academics and service Delta Epsilon Chi, also known as DEX, is the college division of DECA and an international college level marketing club centered around turning business students into business professionals. More than 14,500 students are members of DEX, with more than 2,500 that attended the international conference held April 22-26 in Dallas. Delta Epsilon Chi’s renowned Competitive Events Program uses interviews, tests, role-plays, online simulations and written project reports to evaluate students’ marketing and management skills – specific skills identified by the business community as essential for success. Events are judged by business professionals who are active in their professional fields.
Hinton was called on to temporarily serve in the same position in 2003 upon returning home from a three-year church mission to Hong Kong. At that time, he was eager to be back at Dixie State College to resume his role as a professor of communications. Those plans changed, however, when he was selected to fill in for Peterson for a two-year term while Peterson served one year as acting vice president of academic affairs and spent the following year on sabbatical leave completing his doctorate. Dr. Hinton spent the 2005-06 academic year serving as chair of the college’s Department of Fine Arts and Communications. Hinton has been employed by the college since 1977 and has taught a wide variety of communications courses, coached the Dixie State College forensics squad, and has served as fine arts department chair, on two separate occasions now, during that time. “ This is an important time in the college history with changes on many fronts,” Hinton said. “I will do all in my power to fill my responsibility and I hope to apply an appropriate vision to the Dean's office. Joe Peterson has been one of my heroes on this campus and I am not very comfortable stepping into his shoes, but I will do my very best. “I am somewhat sobered by this move because I love teaching and have always seen myself as a professor first and an administrator second,” Hinton continued. “I will attempt to keep that professor window open in my life as I make decisions and implement policy. I hope in that way that I can always keep us focused on what we are all about at Dixie State College. ” A native of Hurricane, Utah, Hinton also attended Dixie College and holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in speech and drama from Brigham Young University. After several years serving as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army during the peak of the Vietnam War, Hinton again retu rned to southern Utah to teach communications. He stayed at Dixie State College for 10 years before taking a sabbatical to go to Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, Ill., where he completed his doctorate. Hinton and his wife, Ada, have six children, five of whom are alumni of the college. Current director of DSC’s communication & new media program, Eric Young, was a student of Hinton’s at Dixie in 1980. “There is no person better for the job,” Young said. “It is a great opportunity to work with him. He has a magnificent knowledge of the academic needs of the students on both a state and local level. His ultimate concern is the students.” **For the past several years, Dixie State College has had two primary academic divisions: the Division of Arts, Letters, and Science and the Division of Business, Technology, and Health Sciences. Effective this upcoming academic year (2006-07), the former will now be known as the School of Education, Humanities, Arts & Social Sciences and the latter will be known as the School of Business, Sciences & Health. The college’s mathematics and science departments will migrate to the School of Business, Sciences & Health. The majority of college employees will work Monday through Thursday, with offices being open to students and the public from 7 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. College employees will have a 30-minute break for lunch. The college first experimented with the four-day summer schedule in 2003. The change in schedule has allowed the college to cut down on air conditioning and electricity costs. While variables change year to year and savings are difficult to predict, the college’s executive director of business services, Scott Talbot, estimates that the four-day workweek has saved the college approximately $40,000 in utility expenses each year in past years. The measure has coincided with a statewide push to conserve power. In recent years, the state has plugged conservation as part of the state’s PowerForward alert system, a color-coded system that encourages electricity use during the summer according to daily circumstances. Certain buildings on the DSC campus will remain open five days a week for instructional pu rposes throughout the summer. All Friday classes throughout summer semester will continue as scheduled, and summer semester will not be affected by the four-day workweek schedule. This year’s summer schedule consists of two 5-week blocks, which begin May 22 and June 26 respectively, an 8-week block that begins May 22, and a 10-week block that begins May 22. To register for summer courses, call 652-7701 or logon at www.dixie.edu/reg.
Those receiving medals at the state competition included: Gold Medal - Kristi Phillips and Jared Madsen in Promotional Bulletin Board Gold Medal - Charlie Iverson – Power Equipment Technology Gold Medal - Amber Webb – Extemporaneous Speaking Gold Medal – Jeremy Luke – Graphic Communications Silver Medal – Shayla Wood – Prepared Speech Silver Medal – Adam Eaton – Graphic Communications Bronze Medal – Dannielle Hermansen – Job Interview Bronze Medal – Nicole Conner – Graphic Communications The Dixie State SkillsUSA-VICA chapter is advised by Mel Jensen, Robert McMicken, and Jay Slade. The SkillsUSA National Championships will be held Thursday, June 22. More than 4,500 outstanding career and technical education students—all state contest winners—will compete hands-on in 77 different trade, technical and leadership fields at the conference.
Peterson will replace Dr. Phil Alletto, who will leave the college in June to become the vice president of student services at Savannah College of Art and Design. Peterson’s appointment was formally confirmed Friday morning at the college’s Board of Trustees meeting. “I want to thank President Caldwell for his confidence and encouragement,” Peterson said. “I'm thrilled to be able to work with the good people in Student Services. Without them, the College would grind to a halt. It's a great team, and I'm glad to become a part of it.” Peterson has served as dean of arts, letters, and science at DSC since 1994. During that time, he also served one year as interim vice president of academics in 2003-04 and also served two years as dean of continuing education from 1996 to 1998 in a concurrent assignment. He came to Dixie College in 1985 as an English teacher. “When I left Dixie's English department in 1994, the thing I missed the most was the day-to-day contact with students,” Peterson continued. “I'm excited that this new position will bring more of that into my professional life.” He chaired the Dixie State’s Accreditation Steering Committee and authored its self-study in Dixie State’s initial bid for accreditation at the baccalaureate level. Full accreditation at the baccalaureate level was granted to the college in January 2003. In 1992, Peterson received the college’s Teacher of the Year Rebel Award. In 2003, he was the recipient of the Distinguished Service Staff Rebel Award. He is the only employee to ever receive both awards. Peterson has also served as the college’s Faculty Senate President during his time at Dixie. He holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in English from Brigham Young University, which he was awarded in 1980 and 1982 respectively. He recently completed his doctorate in educational leadership at UNLV. Born in Monticello, Utah, in 1955, Peterson is married to the former Becky Heaton of Monticello, Utah, and they are the parents of four children. “When President Caldwell told me that Joe was the guy, I felt a great sense of relief that I would be leaving our developing work in competent, caring, dedicated hands,” Alletto said. “Though my time a t Dixie has been short, it has been wonderful. More than anything else I have enjoyed working with great people to make DSC a better place for students.” Alletto came to Dixie State in 2003 after serving as vice president of student development and enrollment planning at Westminster College in Salt Lake City. The Savannah College of Art and Design was recently named the number one art school in the nation and has three locations – including one in Lacoste, France – which enroll approximately 7,500 students with 3,000 living on campus. “We have been fortunate to benefit from Phil’s talent and leadership during his three years here, and he will be missed. The student services division is losing a very talented leader, yet gaining one at the same time,” said Dr. Caldwell. “I can’t begin to express my gratitude to Joe for taking on yet another critical leadership role at a crucial time in the history of the institution. We are fortunate to have someone of his intelligence, work ethic, institutional commitment, and professionalism.”
Governor Jon Huntsman, Jr. – who served as this year’s keynote commencement speaker – urged the Class of 2006 to serve, lead, foster human relationships, and continue learning. “I don’t want you to forget the importance of the journey that you’re just now embarking upon,” Governor Huntsman told DSC graduates. “You’re becoming life-long learners. The journey you’re just now taking is probably going to result in, on average, between 5-7 different jobs during the course of your career. “Unlike my parents and my grandparents, who had a single job, you are going to be in a very fast-paced, highly mobile, global community – and it means you’ve got to be fast on your feet,” the Governor continued. “It means the greatest gift that you can have as you walk out of this building is having learned how to learn, because your learning for the rest of your life is just beginning.” In addition, Governor Huntsman shared with graduates his personal list of “seven habits”: Don’t forget to dream; Find a hero; In addition t o learning, experience other asp ects of the human soul; Love something greater than yourself; Prepare for failure and adversity – what you do with it makes the difference; Be good listeners; and Provide service to your fellow human beings. Five foreign countries and 31 states are represented in the Class of 2006. Over 650 graduates hail from Washington County. This year’s graduates ranged in age from 16 years old to 59. Heidi Black Nuttall and Lee Michael Audd represented the class as this year’s Baccalaureate and Associate Valedictorian commencement speakers. Jonathan Ziegler, who passed away April 7 in St. George as the result of an accidental drowning, was awarded his associate degree posthumously. His wife, Jamie, accepted the degree in his behalf. Honorary degrees were awarded to Governor Huntsman and Russell C. Taylor. Receiving Distinguished Citizen awards for their exemplary service to the college and community were Dr. Marilyn Arnold, Representative David Clark, Dr. Max Rose, and Representative Stephen Urquhart. Teacher of the Year honors went to Tim Eicher, chair of the education and family science department. Rowena Hammond, business department, and Susan Mower, business department, were honored as retiring faculty members and emeriti award recipients. Greg Croshaw and Shirley Judd were honored as retiring staff members.
President Caldwell spoke about Dixie’s past and reflected on its future, which includes offering a growing number of four-year degrees. The college first began offering baccalaureate degrees in 2000. “ DSC has a long and distinguished history as an extraordinary junior college with a strong liberal arts tradition. It has a strong recent history as a community college meeting the unique needs of our community. It has a tantalizing potential as a baccalaureate granting institution,” Dr. Caldwell said during his inaugural address. “It is clear that the state, county and region have much to gain from an accelerated and cooperative push to realize that potential. We must never forget, however, that an educational institution is only a vehicle for accelerating the development of human potential and enhancing community and economic development. This potential must be achieved in the lives of each student. The challenge we now face in Utah’s Dixie is to pave the road behind the pioneers of the 19 th century, the community builders of the 20 th century and the entrepreneurs of the 21 st century.” Elder Holland appeared right at home and happy to be back in his native St. George, where he attended high school and began his college career at Dixie College. I hope everyone has dutifully noted that for this wonderful event I am wearing neither my Yale doctoral hood nor my BYU honorary doctoral hood, but am proudly wearing the red and gray hood of my Dixie State College honorary doctorate,” Elder Holland said in his address. “I am very fond of it and am happy to wear it at such a special event today. “In welcoming Dr. Caldwell to his well-deserved and delightful new opportunity as the 16 th President of this institution, let me say that no one has come to this post with more distinguished academic and professional credentials than does he,” Elder Holland continued. “Each of those fifteen men, from Hugh M. Woodward to Robert Huddleston, was the right man at the right time and each has left an indelible mark and permanent legacy on this institution. Now, Lee, it is your moment in time and you have prepared wonderfully well. This is your hour “under the Dixie sun.” Your decision to come here two years ago was as timely and fortuitous as the Regents’ decision to name you President was wise and far-sighted. Thus the stars have aligned themselves for a marvelous new chapter in Dixie’s on-going history. Both sun and stars will shine on you as you strive to do your best for this school and the students who come here to pursue their dreams of a fine education and their future place in the world.”
In Dixie’s 95-year history, there have been just 15 inaugurations on the Dixie campus, and the last one took place 13 years ago. Dignitaries from all over the state and nation will be on campus. One of Dixie’s most prestigious alumni – Elder Jeffrey R. Holland – will be the keynote speaker. Even the No. 1 Beatles show in the world will be on tap to help formally ring in the Caldwell era. “It is almost show time, and we are ready,” said Christina Schultz, vice president of institutional advancement and chair of the inauguration committee. “Of course, this is a Dixie State family event, but more than anything, it’s also a community event. This is the time for community to really embrace Dr. Caldwell and welcome him here. We want to make sure that everyone knows that they are welcome. And it is free and open to the public as well.” The inauguration ceremony, which begins promptly at 7 p.m. in the Burns Arena, will have several components. In addition to the traditional aspects of an inauguration such as the invest iture ceremony, inaugural address by the president, and greetings from various constituency groups, there will be a significant musical component to the program, which will include performances by the Southern Utah Heritage Choir, Southwest Symphony, the DSC Chamber Singers, the DSC Theatre Department, and a duet by Alice Lord (President Caldwell’s niece) on violin and Nancy Allred on piano. The inauguration ceremony will last approximately an hour and a half. Then at approximately 9 p.m., everyone will adjourn to the ballroom of the Gardner Center for the Inaugural Ball. Music will be provided by the Mick Jones Big Band – a 16-piece big band – and the aforementioned “1964…The Tribute.” “These gentlemen play Beatles music and they look just like John, Paul, George, and Ringo,” Schultz said. “They really do look so similar to the original Beatles. People just need to come and be ready to dance and have a good time. Even if you don’t like to dance, you’ll want to come for the music.” Pomp and circumstance – and Beatles music – aside, this event is about honoring President Caldwell. “This will be the perfect forum to highlight and celebrate President Caldwell’s extraordinary first year on the job as president,” Schultz said. “I think Dixie State College is extremely lucky to have someone of his talent and vision amongst us, and we very much look forward to formally welcoming him to the college on Thursday. ” For m ore information regarding Dr. Caldwell and his inauguration, visit inauguration.dixie.edu.
Governor Huntsman , who will be this year’s Commencement speaker, was born on March 26, 1960 in Palo Alto, California. He attended the University of Utah and graduated with a bachelor’s degree from the University of Pennsylvania. As a business executive, he has held several leadership positions with Huntsman Corporation, most recently as Chairman and CEO of its holding company. His public service career includes serving as a White House staff assistant to President Ronald Reagan. Under President George H. Bush, he was deputy assistant secretary of commerce for trade development, deputy assistant secretary of commerce for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, as well as U.S. ambassador to Singapore (the youngest U.S. ambassador in a century). He is fluent in Mandarin. He also served as a deputy U.S. trade representative and U.S. trade ambassador under President George W. Bush. Governor Huntsman is a seventh generation Utahn; his wife Mary Kaye is a first generation Utahn. Together they have six children, one of whom is adopted from China. Russell C. Taylor was born in Red Mesa, Colorado, in 1925, and grew up in Provo, Utah. Taylor has served on the Dixie State College National Advisory Council since 1991. He also serves on the Dixie State College Celebrity Concert Series Board and has enjoyed his service and involvement at Dixie State College and with the St. George community very much. He graduated from Provo High School, Class of 1944; he had enough credits to graduate mid-year (1943) of his senior year and, with World War II in the forefront, joined the U.S. Navy. Taylor was assigned to the Navy medical department, where he was a pharmacists mate, working in the Aleutian Islands in the medical records department. In his final months, he was assigned to a light cruiser in the San Pedro Harbor, California coast. Within a few days of this light cruiser being sent to the Japanese theater of war, the war ended and Taylor was discharged in 1945. After his discharge from the Navy, Taylor returned to his home in Provo, and started college at Brigham Young University. After serving a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Northwestern States Mission, he completed his studies at BYU and graduated in 1951, with a bachelor’s degree in economics. He married his sweetheart, Joyce Mortensen, in 1952. Upon graduation, Taylor took a position in New York Life’s insurance department, where he worked for 10 years, then spent five years as the district group manager of the Crown Life Insurance Company in Denver. In 1966, he became executive vice president and director of Galbraith and Green, Inc., a company of employee benefit consultants, administrators and actuaries in Denver. In April of 1984, Taylor was called into the Seventies Quorum of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. From 1984 to 1987, he served in the Area Presidency of Europe, with first contact responsibility for the British Isles and Africa. From 1987 to 1989, he served as a member of the Area Presidency of the Utah South Area and as a managing director in the Church Headquarters Missionary Department. Prior to this service as a member of the Seventies Quorum, he served as a Regional Representative assigned to the Michigan, Milwaukee and Minneapolis Regions, and then—from 1976 to 1979—as president of the Georgia Atlanta Mission. Commencing September 1, 1995, Russell and Joyce Taylor were called as the Denver Colorado Temple President and Matron; they were released from this calling November 1, 1998. In 1990, Taylor became director of Nevada Community Bank, which opened in Las Vegas in 1990. In 1994, the bank was bought out by First Security Bank of Utah. Taylor worked with Noall Bennett and a group of investors in 1992 to help recapitalize the Sun Capital Bank in St. George, Utah, to help develop a growth opportunity. Taylor sat on the Sun Capital Bank Board until it was bought out by U.S. Bank in 1997. In 1995, Taylor and his colleagues opened their second bank operation in Las Vegas—the Community Bank of Nevada. He was a founding director of this bank, which now has nine branches in the Las Vegas area. While serving with the Sun Capital Bank in St. George, Taylor and others were able to involve the bank in supporting the restoration of the Pioneer Center for the Arts in St. George. This involved restoring the Old Opera House, the Social Hall (which was named for Russell and Joyce Taylor as contributors/benefactors), and building the new Art Museum. Helping in the restoration of that beautiful, historic center was a highlight experience for him. Taylor and his wife, Joyce, are the parents of six children, and they have 20 grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. Dixie State College will confer just over 1,000 associate and bachelor’s degrees (not including certificates). The college’s first class of baccalaureate degree seeking graduates in the area of nursing will be among the 125 receiving baccalaureate degrees this year.
Twelve DSC students have earned the valed ictorian honor in 2005-06. Heidi Black Nuttall will be the Baccalaureate Degree Valedictorian commencement speaker. Lee Michael Audd will represent the class as Associate Degree Valedictorian commencement speaker. Others receiving the Valedictorian distinction this year include Susanne Green (St. George, UT), Suzan Barnes (Hurricane, UT), Ariane Hansen (Dameron Valley, UT), Jessica Torgerson (Washington, UT), Kellie Clove (St. George, UT), Cassidy Clayton (St. George, UT), Ashley Soper (St. George, UT), Michael Hayes (St. George, UT), James Boyd (Ivins, UT), and Andrew Langston (Hurricane, UT). Lee Michael Audd ( Washington, UT) was born in Rexburg, Idaho, to Don and Deanna Audd. He is the second of 11 children. At the age of six he moved to Ivins, Utah, where he came to appreciate the red rocks and beautiful desert of southern Utah. Audd attended Snow Canyon High School where he played tight-end for the football team; his junior year they won the state championship. He graduated from Snow Canyon High School in 1998. Audd has attended Dixie State College for the past three years and is an active member of Student Support Services. Audd is this year’s recipient of the Virion Scholarship and will spend the summer working at a research facility in Maryland studying pathogens and vaccines. He has been awarded the Presidential Scholarship at Utah State University where he will pursue a degree in biology. He then hopes to attend medical school at the University of Utah and achieve his goal of becoming a doctor. In July of 2000, Audd married Juliana Marie Seegmill er of St. George, Utah, and is now t he proud father of two children: Lee Michael Audd, Jr., age 3, and Christopher Ryan Audd, age 1. Heidi Nuttall grew up in Glendale, Arizona. She is the second of five children. Nuttall was raised and mentored by her parents Larry and Laina Black. Nuttall has always enjoyed learning. At a young age, she could be found teaching her stuffed animals what she had learned in school earlier that day. Being a teacher and influencing children has been one of her long-term goals. In 2000, Nuttall graduated high school among the top five percent of her class. In 2002, she graduated Summa Cum Laude with her associate of science degree from Dixie State College. Now, she is pleased to complete her elementary education degree with an ESL endorsement and is honored to be among her classmates in receiving her diploma from Dixie State College. In March of 2004, she married Todd Nuttall in Mesa, Arizona. They currently reside in Salt Lake City and are expecting their first child in June. The Valedictorian award is judged not only upon grades, but difficulty of courses completed. The recipient must have a cumulative GPA of 3.90 to 4.00. Dixie State’s 2006 commencement exercises will begin at 6 p.m. on May 6 in the college’s Burns Arena. Governor Jon Huntsman, Jr. will be the keynote speaker.
Dr. Marilyn Arnold, Representative David Clark, Dr. Max Rose, and Representative Steve Urquhardt, will be the recipients of this honor, awarded for exemplary service to the college and community. An emeritus professor of English, Dr. Marilyn Arnold retired early from busy years of service at Brigham Young University — as teacher, scholar, assistant to the president, director of a literary center, and graduate school dean — to pursue another kind of career and a life of community service in the red rock country of southwest Utah. She earned a Ph.D. in American literature from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and went on to receive a “Woman of Achievement” award from the State of Utah and has been honored by the Utah Humanities Council. Her writings since “retirement” include six novels set in the desert country that has been her heart’s home since she first began backpacking its deep canyons and craggy bluffs many years ago. Her most recent novel received a national award. A widely recognized authority on the work of novelist Willa Cather, Professor Arnold has published several books and many dozens of articles on Cather and other writers. She has also edited a literary journal, served on editorial boards for academic journals, and lectured at numerous national literature conferences and seminars. Furthermore, Professor Arnold has published countless essays, books, and book chapters on a variety of subjects including commentaries on religious texts. She served eight years on the Dixie State College board of trustees, and currently serves on the board for the Celebrity Concert Series and the steering committee for the upcoming St. George Book Festival. She has also served on the Washington County library board. Representative David L. Clark is a respected member of the Utah House of Representatives serving in his sixth year. As a member of the Utah State Legislature, he is vice chair of the executive appropriation committee and also the retirement committee. His legislative assignments include the transportation standing committee, the business and labor standing committee, and the higher education appropriation committee. He has been honored as the Legislator of the Year by many organizations, including UITA, Utah Taxpayer’s Association, Utah State Chamber of Commerce, Utah Business Coalition, and the Utah Board of Realtors. Clark is a longtime friend of Dixie State College and was instrumental in the college receiving state funding for its fine arts center and the future health sciences center, and has served as the executive director of the Dixie Rotary Bowl. Born in Provo, Utah, Clark received a bachelor of science degree from Brigham Young University in 1976. He attended National Commercial Lenders Graduate School at the University of Oklahoma in 1983 and Pacific Coast Banking School and the University of Washington in 1995. Clark is the Zions Bank Regional Area President in southern Utah, where he has worked since 1976. Clark married his high school sweetheart, Nan Nielsen. They have four children and five grandchildren. Hi s wife and all of his children have attended Dixie State College. Dr. Max Rose is currently the Superintendent of the Washington County School District and is the former Vice President of Academics at Dixie State College where he was also a professor of math and chemistry. Rose was born and reared in neighboring Garfield County, in the small town of Henrieville. He is from a family of 14 children. After graduating from Bryce Valley High School, he earned degrees in math and chemistry. He earned a bachelor’s degree, master’s degree and a doctorate degree from Southern Utah University, Utah State University, and Brigham Young University respectively. Coming to Dixie College in 1972, Rose discovered at the very beginning of his career the terrific nature of the college. He had the satisfaction of seeing the campus expand from the earliest small buildings with exterior entrances to the larger enclosed buildings and full landscape. Rose has served as a leader in his church in many capacities and has served in the community in multiple assignments. He served as chairman of the Dixie Regional Medical Center Governing Board and as chairman of the Dixie Center. Rose and his wife, Kathy, are parents of three children and have three grandchi ldren. Each child is an alumnus of Dixie State College. Representative Steve Urquhart is Majority Whip in the Utah House of Representatives, elected by his fellow house members to hold that leadership position after serving just four years in the House. Among many legislative honors, Urquhart was recognized in 2002 by the Council of State Governments as “one of the 40 best and brightest emerging leaders in the nation.” Urquhart is a Dixie State College advocate and friend when it comes to legislative issues. He has taken the lead in being the college’s champion and friend in assisting it with funds, buildings and special programs. Born and raised in Houston, Texas, Urquhart received a degree in biology from Williams College and an honors degree in law from Brigham Young University, where he worked on the Law Review. Urquhart started practicing law in Irvine, California, and Seattle, Washington, with the large, international law firm of Morrison & Foerster. Shortly after the birth of their first child in 1994, Urquhart and his wife, St. George-native Sara Stanley, moved to St. George, where he currently practices business law with the firm of Snow, Christensen, and Martineau and coaches youth baseball and soccer. The Urquharts have four children. This year’s tour includes 10 beautiful gardens located throughout the Washington County area and a garden tea with Master Gardeners. Each garden with different landscapes, varying from flowers, vegetables, lush and green, and desert scenes will be on display for public viewing as part of the tour. Different locations are chosen each year for the Spring Garden Tour. The Garden Tour first began in 1986 in Santa Clara and Leeds to help support students who were returning to their studies at Dixie State College. The American Association of University Women (AAUW), the Lady Lions of St. George, St. George Business and Professional Women, the St. George Dixie Garden Club, and Community Education sponsor this event. Tickets are $10 per person and can be purchased at the Continuing Education office at Dixie State College located at 865 East 100 South in St. George, Evelyn’s Inc, R & K Bookstore, City of St. George Recreation Center, Plant World Nursery, and Star Nursery. Participants will receive a map of the gardens with their ticket purchase. For more information about the Spring Garden Tour, contact Janet O’Riley at 652-7671.
The mayor’s presentation is entitled “Effectively Combating Climate Change Together.” The forum will run about an hour-and-a-half. A question and answer session will follow. For more information regarding Dixie Forum, contact Dennis Wignall at 652-7803.
Dr. Coleman’s primary research focus is African American history. He has presented his work at a variety of history and ethnic studies conferences. Dr. Coleman is frequently invited to lecture on topics varying from African American history to contemporary race relations in the United States. His publications include articles on western black history. Before joining the University of Utah faculty in 1973, Dr. Coleman taught in the San Francisco Unified School District from 1968 to 1970, and at Sacramento City College from 1970-1973. Dr. Coleman is an associate professor of history and ethnic studies and former coordinator of the Ethnic Studies Program, a post he held from July 1984 to July 1991. He held the position of Associate Vice President for Diversity and Faculty Development from December 1989 to July 1999. All students, faculty, staff, and the general public are welcome to attend this event. For more information, please contact Randy Jasmine (652-7811) or Darl Biniaz (biniaz@dixie.edu).
Angela Rideout from Iowa City, Iowa, and Shalisse Seegmiller from St. George were named first and second attendant respectively. Ashley Nielsen from Hyrum, Utah, was named Miss Dixie SpiritThe pageant has long been a staple of D-Week, which first began at the college in 1914 as a way to increase school spirit among students, alumni, and the community. To many, D-Week’s signature event is the Great Race, which will take place Friday, April 7 at 6 p.m. (A free BBQ will follow at 7 p.m.) The starting point for the Great Race, which will snake its way throughout campus, will be on the Encampment Mall. Over 15 ten-member teams comprised of DSC alumni, students, and faculty and staff will relay their way across campus by foot, mountain bike, roller blades, water, mud and more.
The inaugural Great Race occurred in 1971 and included such events as motocross, horseback riding, and tubing down the Virgin River. Growth and safety concerns eventually forced the race to the friendly confines of campus. In addition to the traditional running, biking, and swimming, Great Racers now have to negotiate, among other things, a slip n’ slide track, a roller blade course, a Dixie trivia question, and a mud pit throughout the 10-leg relay course.
D-Week wraps up on Saturday, April 8, with the annual whitewash of the ‘D’ on Black Hill. Whitewashing gets underway
at 7 a.m. A continental breakfast will also be served. At 9 a.m. on Saturday will be a Program Bureau reunion at 9 a.m. in the Eccles Center band room.
Other Saturday D-Week activities include the Southern Utah Alumni Chapter BBQ at the college's institutional residence from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. At 9 p.m. will be the annual D-Day Dance in the Gardner Ballroom.
D-Week at Dixie State College is a chance for college alumni, students, and faculty and staff, as well as the community, to come together in a reunion setting for a week of activities. Community members are invited to attend all D-Week activities.
“D-Week is one of those things that makes Dixie Dixie. It’s what makes us unique,” said Donna Stafford, director of student leadership and activities. “To me, there is no greater time of year.”
Two prominent local artists, Roland Lee and John Lefkow, both part-time Dixie State College art instructors will be featured in the exhibit. Keith Huang, a graduating student this year, is producing a working studio installation, a work in progress. He will be painting in the gallery during the run of the show. Dan Whalen, a DSC film and art student, will be filming the progress of Keith’s drawings. “DSC students have been working throughout the year in preparation for the show,” said Mark Petersen, executive director of cultural arts. “It is an opportunity for our students to learn how to present their art and how to present themselves in a professional setting.” In addition to the various painting styles that will be displayed, there will also be several bronze pieces and many ceramic pieces exhibited. Some students have even crafted sinks, such as Brady Richardson. “Students Ryan Hardison and Scott Henry, and DSC’s dean of Arts, Letters and Sciences, Joe Peterson, are doing phenomenal work,” said Petersen. “The work of Glen Blakley, Ron Sherman and Shane Christensen, DSC ceramic teachers, will be on exhibit. It’s really going to be an impressive show.” Featured artists Lee and Lefkow have had longstanding careers as successful artists. Lee is internationally recognized for his transparent watercolors of the American and European landscape. His original paintings are now in over 850 private and public art collections worldwide. He has received acclaim for his travel sketchbook drawings and European paintings. Lefkow is from New York where he taught art at the public school and university level. He received his B.S. from New York University and his M.A. from Adelphi University. Working in a variety of media such as welded bronze, mosaic, cast concrete and wood laminates he collaborated with architects to create contemporary sculpture and murals for numerous public buildings and outdoor spaces. For this show, however, he has created several oil paintings with rich textures and color. “We’re really excited for our newest exhibit,” said Petersen. It is our one show during the year that has a large variety of mediums, which makes it a very entertaining show to experience. We hope many people will come meet the artists and join us for refreshments Monday evening.” That announcement has prompted a venue change for the inauguration ceremony, which will now be held in the college’s Burns Arena. The inaugural procession will begin at 6:40 p.m., with the ceremony following at 7 p.m. “I would be hard pressed to find any leader that has had a greater impact on education in the state of Utah, the nation, and even internationally,” said Dr. Caldwell. “To have someone coming with Elder Holland’s background and experience, not to mention his Dixie roots, is tremendous.” From 1980, until his call as a General Authority for the LDS Church in 1989, Elder Holland served as the ninth president of Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah. He is a former Church commissioner of education and dean of the College of Religious Education at BYU. A student leader and varsity athlete at Dixie High School and Dixie College in his native St. George, Utah, Elder Holland received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in English and religious education, respectively, from Brigham Young University. He obtained master’s and doctor of philosophy degrees in American Studies from Yale University. He was active in professional education activity prior to his call to full-time Church service. He served as president of the American Association of Presidents of Independent Colleges and Universities (AAPICU), on the board of the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities (NAICU), and as a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s (NCAA) Presidents Commission. Elder Holland was ordained a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on June 23, 1994. At the time of this call, he was serving as a member of the First Quorum of the Seventy to which he had been called on April 1, 1989. He and his wife, the former Patricia Terry, are the parents of three children and grandparents to twelve grandchildren. Dr. Caldwell was named president of Dixie State College on July 12, 2005. He brings to the presidency an extensive background in both academia and industry. He has served in executive level positions at IBM, Hewlett Packard, Unisys, and Novell. He has also served as a professor and upper level administrator at the University of Utah, Indiana University, Sam Houston State University, and, most recently, Georgia Tech University. He served as DSC’s vice president of academics in 2004-05. Caldwell is recognized internationally as an expert in networking technology and has over 20 years of experience working with the Internet. He holds a doctorate degree in strategic management from Texas A&M and a juris doctorate from Brigham Young University. “This will be the perfect forum to highlight and celebrate an extraordinary first year on the job as president,” said vice president of institutional advancement Christina Schultz, chair of the inauguration committee. “We invite the entire community to participate in this historical event honoring President Caldwell, but we also urge them to come early. We’re expecting a full house.” An inaugural ball will be held following the ceremony at 9 p.m. in the ballroom of the Gardner Student Center. Official collegiate presidential inaugurations in the United States originated with the nation’s nine colonial colleges in the 17th century and established the custom of formally acknowledging a change in leadership at a school’s highest level, within a context of continuity and tradition. Since 1911, presidential inaugurations have offered an opportunity for the Dixie community to come together to reflect on the past and to envision a brighter future. For more information regarding the inauguration of President Caldwell, visit www.dixie.edu.
Michael Ballam has had an operatic and recital career spanning three decades and four continents. A native of Logan, Utah, Dr. Ballam has performed in the major concert halls of America, Europe, Asia, Russia and the Middle East, with command performances at the Vatican and the White house. His operatic repertoire includes more than 600 performances of over 70 major roles. He has shared the stage with the world's greatest singers and has performed with critical acclaim in some of the most important concert halls in the country. At age 24, Dr. Ballam became the youngest recipient of the degree of Doctor of Music with Distinction in the history of the prestigious Indiana University. He is currently a Professor of Music at Utah State University and an accomplished pianist and oboist. Dr. Ballam currently serves as the General Director of the Utah Festival Opera, a company he founded in 1993. It has become one of the nation's major summer festivals with growing national critical acclaim. It was recently ranked as one of the world's top 20 summer opera festivals by "Money Magazine." “Gianni Schicchi was first performed on Dec. 14,1918 at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City,” said Mark Petersen, executive director of Cultural Arts at Dixie State. “Puccini is one of the world’s noted composers, yet he only wrote one comic opera. It has enjoyed performances throughout the 20 th Century in all of the world’s foremost theaters. We are so fortunate to have Dr. Ballam play the title role in our final theatrical production of the season.” Varlo Davenport is directing Gianni Schicchi, and Dr. Ken Peterson is coaching the vocals and Gary Caldwell is directing the orchestra. Understudy for Gianni Schicchi is Eddy Schumacher. Nichelle Hammer has been cast as Lauretta, Monique Lott as Zita, Brody Perry as Rinuccio, Charla Allred as Nella, Kimball Wirig at Betto, Brandon Wainwright as Simone, John Graf as Marco, Valarie Taylor as La Ciesca, Morgan Hall as Master Spinelloccio, Richard Beers as Amantio de Nicolao, Jarom Brown at Penellino, and Ben Smith as Guccio. Laura Jacobson is assistant director for the show.
Most recently, Haun was the offensive coordinator at Weber State during the 2005 season. He is perhaps best known for the two decades he spent as the head football coach at the former Ricks College (now BYU-Idaho) in Rexburg, Idaho. “I’m really excited to be named head coach of Dixie State College,” said Coach Haun. “It’s a job I’ve coveted ever since I attended Dixie. I have Dixie blood in me, and that’s hard to get rid of. I’m thrilled to death. We have a lot of friends in the area and acquaintances and we’re looking forward to renewing those acquaintances and becoming an active part of the community. “I’m also looking forward to the young men we’re going to be coaching,” Haun continued. “We’re going in a different direction now as we prepare for the NCAA. We’re going to go out and actively recruit the best young men that we can get our hands on that people will be proud of. We will be well coached, and well trained, and our athletes will be contributing members of the community. I can’t wait to get started.” Between 1982 and 2001, Haun led Ricks College to a record of 178-40-2, 17 post-season bowl appearances, eight league championships including four in the Western States Football League (of which Dixie State has been a part), and two undefeated seasons in 1992 and 1994. On four separate occasions during that time, Ricks finished the season as the National Junior College runner-up. He was the winningest coach in the NJCAA during his tenure with Ricks, with a winning percentage of 82 percent. Coach Haun was inducted into the NJCAA Football Hall of Fame in 2002. Academically, his teams at Ricks consistently achieved a GPA of 3.0 or higher and were National Academic Football Champions in 1995 and from 1997-2001. Over 40 of his players were named Academic All-Americans. “Coach Haun brings the entire package,” said Dixie State athletic director Dexter Irvin. “We’re very, very excited to have him part of the Dixie family again. He’s a great choice to lead our football team into the NCAA, and he is going to be a great part of our athletic program. We have a wonderful st aff here, and he’s going to be a great compliment to our athletic program and make us all better.” Haun has continued teaching physical education classes at Brigham Young University-Idaho since the institution dropped its athletics program in 2001. He began his coaching career as an assistant at Skyline High School in Salt Lake City (1967-1975). He was later head coach at Murray High School in Salt Lake (1975-1979) where he won two state championships. He also worked as Ricks College’s offensive coordinator from 1979-1982. He attended Dixie College in 1964 where he was quarterback and team captain. He completed his career as a student-athlete at Weber, where he played quarterback and was team captain as well. Coach Haun made it a point to reference his extensive network of connections within the state of Utah and how that will benefit recruiting efforts. Many of his former players are now coaches at varying high school and college levels in Utah, and he expects to draw on those resources. “We have to go after the Utah kids, and that’s where I think I have an advantage,” Haun continued. “I’ve recruited Utah kids for 20 years. We’ll have a broad net, but I think our base will be Utah. I’m just so high on Utah football. There are just so many good football players in Utah that we’d be crazy not to use that as our base and use our contacts and go out there and get those kids to St. George.” He also drew a comparison between Dixie State and Boise State, which went through a similar transition from the JUCO ranks to the NCAA. “( Boise State) is going to be our model, and that’s what I envis ion,” Haun stated. “ Boise State made a great transition from a junior college to a powerful NCAA program, and they always won along the way. It’s going to take a while, and it’s at a different level, but Dixie has always won, and I’m going to uphold that tradition.” Haun graduated with a bachelor’s degree in education in 1966 from Weber State. He later earned a master’s degree in education from Brigham Young University. He and his wife, Beverly, have two children, Trent and Rebecca.
The extent of the damage to the artwork in the collections room at the time of the flooding is still being assessed. The collections room has suffered water damage due to an apparent malfunction in the room’s humidity control system. This has necessitated a review of all art pieces for damage. The Chicago Conservation Center has been employed to steer the preservation effort. Representatives from the center – said to be the nation’s leading private art restoration and conservation authority – are currently evaluating all pieces for damage. At least one other art collection at another institution of higher learning in the state has suffered through a similar incident of water damage from similar causes and solicited the help of the same conservation center. In that instance, nearly every piece of art was recovered. Dixie officials are hopeful for a similar outcome. “We think the vast majority of the artwork is recoverable,” said Mark Petersen, executive director of cultural arts at the college. “Some of the nation’s top restoration experts are currently on the scene. Though we’re stunned and saddened that something like this would happen, we are hopeful for a positive ending to this. We’re still assessing, but we’re confident any long-term damage will be minimal and that most of the pieces will be restored to their original beauty.” State risk management officials arrived on site almost immediately to help assess the situation, and a review of the humidity control system will take place. “The State was very quick to respond to the flooding in Washington County last year, and we’re seeing the same kind of response, which we’re very appreciative of,” said Dr. Lee Caldwell, DSC president. “A lot of folks at the state level have taken a vested interest in helping us recover from this.” Not all of the college’s art collection was in the collections room at the time of the flooding. Much of the collection is currently on display in buildings throughout campus. Approximately 300 two-dimensional pieces and 100 three-dimensional pieces were involved in the incident.
“We’re thrilled to be able to have Governor Huntsman visit the Dixie State campus in this capacity,” said DSC president Dr. Lee Caldwell. “It’s also a chance to pay tribute to him for the amount of time he has spent in Dixie, particularly during the floods of last year. We appreciate him being governor for the entire state and being mindful of the issues and growth of Washington County.” Governor Huntsman was born on March 26, 1960 in Palo Alto, California. He attended the University of Utah and graduated with a bachelor's degree from the University of Pennsylvania. As a business executive, he has held several leadership positions with Huntsman Corporation, most recently as Chairman and CEO of its holding company. His public service career includes serving as a White House staff assistant to President Ronald Reagan. Under President George H. W. Bush, he was deputy assistant secretary of commerce for trade develop ment, deputy assistant secretary of commerce for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, as well as U.S. ambassador to Singapore (the youngest U.S. ambassador in a century). He is fluent in Mandarin. He also served as a deputy U.S. trade representative and U.S. trade ambassador under President George W. Bush. Governor Huntsman is a seventh generation Utahn, his wife Mary Kaye is a first generation Utahn. Together they have six children, one of whom is adopted from China. DSC commencement will be held in the Burns Arena on campus and gets underway at 6 p.m.
Effective fall semester 2006, tuition at Dixie State will increase approximately $250 per semester throughout the 2006-07 academic year, a 31 percent increase. That increase will only affect freshman and sophomore students. Dixie State is the only institution in the state that proposed a tuition DECREASE as well. Junior and senior students will actually see an 11 percent decrease in tuition next y ear, which translates into a savings of approximately $125 per semester. For the past six years at DSC (since the college first began offering four-year degrees in 2000), freshmen and sophomores have paid one rate, and juniors and seniors have paid a separate, higher rate. Given the recent expansion of Dixie State’s four-year mission, Dixie State will now have a single, unified tuition rate for all students, like most institutions that offer four-year degrees. As a result, all students will pay $1,050 per semester during 2006-07. Even with the increase, DSC students will be paying a rate that's very competitive with other institutions statewide. In some cases, Dixie State’s new rate will still be competitive with some two-year colleges. “We don’t want to downplay the increase. We realize it will cause some financial hardship for some, and we’re trying to create need-based scholarships that will hopefully counter some of that hardship,” said DSC spokesman Chris Taylor. “When the increase is put into perspective, however, and people realize that Dixie State will just barely be more expensive than Salt Lake Community College this upcoming academic year, it lessens the blow a little. “There are a lot of folks who want to stay in the St. George area to earn their bachelor’s degree,” Taylor continued. “The students who stick with us all four years are the ones who stand to benefit from a really competitive tuition rate as compared to other baccalaureate granting institutions.” The new tuition rate will enable Dixie State to begin to move to a more competitive faculty structure (including adjunct pay), as wa s recommended by the Commissioner of Higher Ed ucation’s Office. It will also allow the college to begin hiring more faculty and replacing some adjunct faculty with full-time faculty in some areas. DSC president Dr. Lee Caldwell anticipates that tuition will rise a similar dollar amount the following year (in 2007-08). While Dixie State has moved to a rate comparable with SLCC for the upcoming year, Caldwell said, Dixie State is classified as a “baccalaureate granting, associate dominant” institution and will need to begin benchmarking itself against institutions of comparable size and mission, bringing Dixie’s tuition rate more in line with the regional average of such institutions.
The college will also soon add a program in either women’s golf or cross country, bringing Dixie State into compliance with the NCAA’s 10-sport requirement. Previously, the college’s athletic department has included programs in football, men’s basketball, baseball, men’s golf, women’s volleyball, women’s basketball, women’s soccer, and softball. “This is an important step as we enter our first full year of competition at the NCAA Division II level this upcoming fall,” said DSC athletic director Dexter Irvin. “Coach Fitzell brings with him all of the attributes to build a successful tennis program, and we’re very pleased to have him onboard.” Fitzell is currently the director and part owner of the renowned Vic Braden Tennis College in St. George, a capacity he has served in since September 2004. He has also worked as a teaching pro for the Vic Braden Tennis College in both St. George and Palm Springs and for the Park City Racquet Club in Park City, Utah. He currently competes professionally on the USTA/ITF Pro Circuit and was Top 5 in singles and doubles in the Utah Men’s Open division between 2001-2004. Fitzell played his collegiate career at Weber State University and attended Dixie State College, where he received his associate degree. “Being a Dixie grad myself, it feels great to be back,” Fitzell said. “I’m very excited for the opportunity to be an NCAA Div. II tennis coach and for all the opportunities and learning experiences that come with a position such as this.” Fitzell expects to carry a roster of between 8-10 players and will begin recruiting immediately. Women’s tennis is a dual semester sport, with match play in both the fall and spring. Championships are held in the spring. As per NCAA requirement, the Dixie State athletic department has also recently added a senior women’s administrator (Linda Huddleston, who currently coaches soccer as well), a compliance officer (Jason Graff, who also doubles as assistant coach for the women’s basketball team), and a faculty athletic representative (Tim Eicher, who is currently serving as chair of the Education and Family Sciences department).
The search committee will be chaired by assistant athletic director Randy Wilstead, who also serves as head women’s softball coach. The committee includes a variety of campus and community representatives. “ Campus and community support for the football program and athletics in general is only enhanced when the selection process is inclusive,” said DSC vice president of student services Dr. Phil Alletto. The search committee will narrow down the candidates to five or six during meetings the first two days of March. The committee will then conduct interviews between Mar. 20-23 and hopes to have a new coach selected by the end of the month. “ The interest (in the position) has exceeded what we expected,&rd quo; said athletic director Dexter Irvin. “We have a good pool of candidates, and we hope to have the next leader of our football program chosen by the end of the March.”
Parson’s lecture is titled “The Stories Behind the Art.” He has been teaching at Dixie State College since 1988. He is a successful portrait and inspirational painter who paints people with a style and emotion that is loved by those who see his work. After receiving his master of fine arts degree from Brigham Young University, he began working as a gallery artist. Parson has entered and won juried art shows from New York City to the West Coast. His work has been displayed in galleries in Arizona and Wyoming, Texas, California and as far away as Alaska and New Jersey. His pieces grace the walls of the Morrison-Knudsen Corporate Headquarter, LDS Church Art Museum and the Nation Center for Constitutional Studies. A noted teacher, Parson received the Teaching Excellence Award from the Utah College Council in 1990. The Alder Faculty Honor Lecture was instituted by former DSC president Doug Alder and his wife Elaine. Its purpose is to promote faculty scholarship about teaching and research, faculty communication and camaraderie, and improvement in teaching and learning. “The college is primarily a teaching college and, as a result, the faculty doesn’t often have the opportunity to spend a lot of time on research,” said Demaree Johnson, chair of the Honor Lecture committee. “The lecture not only gives our professors an opportunity to study, research and write on a topic of their own interest, but to share it with the community at the same time.” Nominees for the Honors Lecture are presented by the college staff and faculty and voted on by the college’s Faculty Senate board. Any full-time faculty member is available for nomination and the presenter is chosen to recognize excellence in teaching and scholarship. The papers associated with the Honors Lecture are published each year in a booklet that is available at the lecture or by contacting Demaree Johnson at (435) 652-7867. Community members are invited to attend the lecture. Admission is free.
His topics will include growth in Washington County and the future for the County. In additional, he will discuss the role of Dixie State College and make observations regarding possible curriculum developments and applicability over the next few years. There is no charge for attendance. Students, faculty, and staff, as well as residents of Washington County are invited to attend the presentation. Congressman Matheson will speak for approximately 20 minutes and will follow his presentation with 45-60 minutes of Q &A and discussion. On Tuesday, March 7, two representatives from the Japanese National Debate Team will be on campus to debate and share their culture as part of the forum series between 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. in the Dunford Auditorium. For more information regarding Dixie Forum, contact communications professor and Dixie Forum coordinator Dennis Wignall at 652-7803.
Koch’s passion for fine art began soon after he graduated from Utah State University in 1989, at which time he started selling his artwork with a local gallery. As the demand grew for his paintings, the Richmond, Utah, resident began to formulate a plan where he could devote more time to painting and, in 1996, he quit his full-time job as an illustrator and graphic designer and started his own graphic design business with the intent of setting aside more time for painting. Three years later, his business was successful, but he had even less time to paint than before. So with some savings in the bank, he decided to take the leap of faith and, as of January 1999, has devoted his full efforts to the fine art that is his passion. Koch has present art works in many galleries and has received numerous awards over his career, his most recent being Honorable Mention in the Deseret Morning News “Color of the Land” Art Show. He was selected by the Utah Republican Party to paint a painting which was presented to Vice President Dick Cheney at the Utah GOP Convention. Ron Rencher took first place in this year’s Oils Landscape category with his painting “Sandstone of Zion.” Second place was awarded to Karl Thomas for “Diamond Fork Winter.” Robert Marshall won third pla ce for “ Snow Canyon.” Receiving Honorable Mention were Ron Larson for “Down and Out” and Kate Starling for “Arroyo in Winter.” In the Oils Other category, Mike Malm, a Dixie State alumnus, won first place for his “By Lamplight.” Ann Marie Oborn won second place for “Fall Revelry.” Winning third place in Oils Other was Alexander Selytin for “Zia Pot & Plums.” Receiving Honorable Mention were Sam Lawlor for “Along the Crook” and Court Naumann for “Grouse Creek Homestead.” In the Watercolor Landscape category, Carl Purcell took first place for “Days End, Isle of Iona, Scotland.” Second place was awarded to Frank LaLumia for “Rain and Shine.” And third place went to Barbara Prestwich for “Snow Canyon View.” Honorable Mention went to Roland Lee and Spike Ress, both former Purchase Prize Winners, for “Ivin’s Reservoir” and “Taos Autumn” respectively. Ian Ramsey received first place honors in the Watercolor Other category for “Street Corner-Shimonoseki Japan.” Robert McFarland’s “Iris 11” won second place. Winning third place was Linda Kohler Barnes for “Nestea.” And receiving Honorable Mention were Paula Wadsworth for “Inspired Hands” and Nancy Perschon for “Pitiless and Pure.” Taking first place in the Pastel Landscape category was Arlene Braithwaite for “Tortoise Preserve Cliffs.” Second place went to Marilee Campbell for “Warm Evening Light,” with third place going to Marilyn Stillman for “Toward Sunset.” Braithwaite’s “Rainstorm Waterfall Zion” received Honorable Mention, as did Campbell’s “Evening Reverie at the Pond.” Past Purchase Prize Winner Julie Rogers won first place in the Pastel Other category for “Hope.” Dan Lewis’ “African Lilies” won second place. Dixie State College art professor and former Purchase Prize Winner Del Parson won third place honors for “Spring Morning.” Jerry Hancock, “Fall Harvest,” and Annette Everett, “Small Wonders 2,” received Honorable Mention. In the Other Media category, the first place ribbon went to Joshua Spendlove for his bronze “Harmony.” Eric Dowdle was awarded second place for his acrylic work “School Carnival.” And Annette Everett took third place for her bronze “Rite of Spring.” Receiving Honorable Mention were Sheri Doty for “A Balance of Unequal Measures” and former Purchase Prize winner L’Deane Trueblood for “Jill’s Barrow,” a bronze piece. All artwork will remain on display through Wednesday, Mar. 22, in the Robert N. and Peggy Sears Art Gallery located in the Dolores Dore’ Eccles Fine Arts Center at Dixie State College. Exhibit hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Sundays. This year’s show features 171 works from 90 artists. Each work exhibited is for sale to the public. Since 1988, a portion of each purchase has gone toward funding the new Dolores Dore’ Eccles Fine Arts Center dedicated on campus in October 2004. The Sears Dixie Invitational Art Show was first established in 1988 by the Robert N. and Peggy Sears family with the goal to build an art gallery on the DSC campus. The public is invited to view the exhibit free of charge. “This year we have so many employers we had to close registration,” Kinney said. “We have a wide variety of employers eager to connect with our students and hire them.” <
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Some of this year’s hot areas, Kinney said, include the healthcare industry and the financial services/planning industry.
In conjunction with the Employment Fair, the DSC Career Center will hold an FBI career information session on Tuesday, Feb. 21 in the UHB Boeing Auditorium (Business Building) at 7 p.m. Two representatives from the FBI will give the inside scoop on how to apply for positions at the FBI. On a lighthearted note, “Spot the Feds” will also be played on campus. Representatives from the FBI will be on campus on both Tuesday and Wednesday, Feb. 21 & 22. Students who approach them and ask if they are the “feds,” will receive a voucher for a prize redeemable Wednesday night during a Q&A session at 7:30 p.m. in the Dunford Auditorium (Browning Building). A screening of “Men in Black” will follow at 8 p.m. The community is invit ed to attend all activities, including the Employment Fair. An annual side benefit of the Employment Fair, free pizza will be served throughout the day. Last year’s successful inaugural Street Fair introduced many fine local musical talents to the community. This Saturday will be no exception as renowned pianist and composer James Oneil Miner will entertain audiences from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Later that same evening, Dixie State College will sponsor James Oneil Minor in concert at 7:30 p.m. in the Eccles Main State Theater. The concert will a
lso feature renowned instrumentalist Daron Bradford
and Maria Reay, lead vocalist for “Proclaim.” Tickets may be purchased at the Cox Auditorium for $10 or by calling 652-7800. Proceeds will DSC’s scholarship fund raising drive.
Those interested in becoming a Street Fair vendor this year can email streetfair@dixie.edu or call George Whitehead at 435-652-7536 or Erin Thatcher at 435-652-7633. Street Fair vendor fees go to support DSC scholarships.
“Greg is a master on the field at the JC level – nobody can argue that,” said Irvin. “Greg has taken our football program to national prominence and his overall record at Dixie is Hall of Fame material. His teams have regularly been ranked in the top 10 and have been in the hunt annually for the national championship.”
But with changes in academic standards and recruiting policies imminent, the administration thought it was best to make a change.
“As we make the move to the NCAA and into a mode where academics are paramount, we want and need to put a premium on academic performance,” Irvin said. “We want to recruit student athletes who will be successful both in the classroom and on the field, and it’s incumbent on us to provide an atmosphere where that can happen.”
According to NCAA Division II philosophy, “Members of Division II believe that a well-conducted intercollegiate athletics program, based on sound educational principles and practices, is a proper part of the educational mission of a university or college and that the educational welfare of the participating student-athlete is of primary concern.”
The academic performance of DSC’s football team has been of some concern to DSC’s administration over the past several years. Following the 2004 season, the football program was asked to establish and adhere to an academic improvement plan. Basic initiatives of the plan included: players were required to register through the college’s academic advisement office, grade checks were to be performed monthly, students below a C in a given class were to be required to meet with coaches who would assign students to proper tutoring and to monitor the progress of homework assignments; these meetings were to be held on a weekly basis.
However, several initiatives of the academic improvement plan were not followed, and this past season the average GPA of scholarship football players again fell short.
“The academic expectations of our football team should be no different than any of our other sports,” Irvin said. “Each of our other sports performs at a much higher academic level.
“We’re becoming a four-year institution,” Irvin continued. “The objective is to keep students here and to help them get an education. The Division II attitude is that you’re a student who participates in athletics, not an athlete who happens to go to classes every once in a while.”
The search for a new head football coach will begin immediately, Irvin said.
The documentary stems from some work Harris and two of his colleagues are doing in northwestern China and deals with dinosaurs and the origin of birds. The documentary details their reinvestigation of an area that had been looked at in the 1980s, but that nobody had returned to since. In the early 1980s, scientists found some very interesting, but really fragmentary specimens of very early birds, Harris said. More than two decades later, Harris and his colleagues have begun quarrying in that area and have found literally dozens of specimens, mostly of birds, but also some turtles, salamanders, plants, insects, and a lot of fish. “In general, the bird fossils that we’re finding there are very unlike any bird fossils from that time period that have been found anywhere in the world before,” Harris said. The Science Channel helped fund the early stages of the project and the group is hopeful to secure the subsequent funding needed to continue the project. According to Harris, 10-20 years worth of work remains to be done in the area. Dr. Harris will give a presentation regarding this work in conjunction with next week’s “Dino Days in Dixie” festivities. The presentation will be Wednesday, Feb. 8 at 7 p.m. in the Dunford Auditorium ( Browning Building) at Dixie State College.
DSC Students to Harvest Willow Stems for Area Riverbeds DSC student volunteers, as well as faculty & staff, alumni, and community members, are invited meet at the college’s Old Gym at 1 p.m. and will be transported to an area in Santa Clara ne ar Sunbroook Golf Course where the harvesting will be done. Volunteers should wear work clothes and bring gloves and pruners, if available. A map will be made available for those traveling in their own vehicles. Refreshments will be served after the project is completed. Volunteers will cut, prune, and bundle 4-8’ willows and prepare them for future planting. The willows will be replanted along Washington County’s riverbanks to prevent bank erosion. The National Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) has identified 68 acres along the Virgin and Santa Clara Rivers that need to be re-vegetated in February and March. The NRCS will be using a private contractor to plant the willows in the river channels once they become available. Washington County is in need of approximately 80,000 willows for this purpose. The Campus to Community service program was organized at Dixie State College in 2001. Campus to Community is Dixie State’s version of a nationwide trend known as service learning, designed to get college students involved service and give them opportunities for practical application of textbook learning. Campus to Community consists of one large-scale community service project each semester. Last semester, students collected over 3,500 cans of non-perishable goods to benefit Dixie Care & Share. Other projects have included a yard sale to benefit a near drowning victim, planting trees for the new Southern Utah Water Conservation Garden in St. George, a book drive to benefit literacy in local schools, assisting with the Confluence Project in Hurricane and LaVerkin, removing weeds and debris at the Santa Clara Arboretum, collecting money for Washington County School District leveled libraries, and planting bushes and shrubs at the Canyons Softball Complex in St. George. As always, community members are invited to take part in all Campus to Community projects.
A formal vote administered by the college’s Faculty Senate overwhelmingly approved of the appointment by DSC President Dr. Lee Caldwell, and the appointment was confirmed last week by DSC’s Board of Trustees. President Caldwell cites a laundry list of reasons why he felt so strongly about this appointment, which include, in his words, Dillingham-Evans’ “ unflagging commitment to educational excellence, her proven academic leadership (as chair of the largest department on campus), her personal commitment to continuously upgrading her credentials and background, her proven record of statewide leadership (she is a tireless worker, and her colleagues at Dixie State College and throughout the state hold her in very high regard), and her long-standing commitment to Dixie State College and the Dixie Spirit.” Dillingham-Evans was also a popular choice among her counterparts in other divisions. “I developed a respect for Donna from afar as I saw her manage the mathematics department and lead out in affecting curricular change,” said Dr. Phil Alletto, vice president of student services. “Now that we work together closely, I admire her leadership and dedication even more.” Dr. Dillingham-Evans has been associated with Dixie State College in a v ariety of capacities since 1982. Since that time she has primarily taught mathematics and chemistry. She has also taught science and math methods for DSC’s elementary education baccalaureate program. She also has approximately 10 years of administrative experience. Dillingham-Evans was named founding chair of the mathematics department in 2001 and continued serving in that position through 2005. She has also served as Dixie State’s Academic Support Center director and as director of the federally funded Student Support Services program during her career at Dixie. She holds a doctorate in educational leadership from Northern Arizona University, a master’s degree in secondary, post-secondary and vocational education from UNLV and a bachelor’s degree in chemistry and mathematics from Austin Peay State University. She has als o studied German at the Goethe Institute in Ebesberg, Germany. Dillingham-Evans is married to Keith “Doc” Evans and they are the parents of five children, four of whom have graduated from Dixie. Her youngest is currently in the computer science program at Dixie State. The couple has four grandchildren. “What an amazing, humbling, elating, energizing and sobering experience this has been,” said Dillingham-Evans. “I am so excited with the potential of Dixie State College, its students, faculty, and staff. What an honor to interact with so many dedicated individuals. I am having a great time helping Dixie State College grow to reflect the talents of all of its people. If this is a dream, may I sleep forever.”
As of spring semest er, which got underway last month at DSC, pep band is back in the books as a formal course (Music 1320, Varsity Band). Students have the option to enroll and earn one hour of college credit. Those interested can still formally add the course through Friday, Feb. 3 by contacting Gubler and filling out an add card. But Gubler, a Dixie College alumnus, is ready to take in all comers, whether they formally sign up for the course or not this semester. Being formally enrolled in the course is not a necessity in order to participate in the band. “Anyone who’s interested, whether they’re a college student or not, can participate. There are a lot of DSC alumni, community members, and high school students who love to play. All we ask is that you have a love for music and that you’re willing to have a little fun,” Gubler said. “A pep band can ratchet up the atmosphere of a sporting event. We want to fill the stands with band members.” Initially, pep band members are being asked to furnish their own instruments. Anticipating that the band will become more and more robust, however, donors have stepped forward with the initial funding needed to purchase new instruments. Additional donations are still being accepted. Eventually, Gubler hopes to one day begin offering scholarships to pep band members. Anyone 18-years of age and older is eligible to audition for band. Those wishing to participate in the pep band can call Bruce Gubler at 669-7813 or email Gubler at bgubler@fri.washk12.org to express interest, indicating what instrument they play and whether or not they have an instrument at their disposal. Pep band rehearsals are being held each Tuesday at 6 p.m. in the Cox Auditorium Rehearsal Hall (Room 221). The idea for the volunteer pep band was hatched last semester and pushed to the forefront by DSC’s student government. “This pus h to restore the pep band is a part of our bigger campaign to reinforce and strengthen the Dixie spirit on campus this year,” said Mitch Symes, ASDSC academic chair. “One of our main purposes is to bring more excitement to sporting events. We feel like a pep band is a big step in that direction.” DSC Students Pay a Visit to Capitol Hill If the initiative, known as Senate Bill 121, passes, it would appropriate more than $11 million to eight of Utah’s smaller colleges and universities to expand current degree programs, establish new degree programs, or hire additional personnel. Approximately $2.5 million of that $11 million pie would go to Dixie State College on an ongoing basis subject to future budget constraints. In addition to it being an enormously educational trip for the students, the group was able to meet with key legislators, including Representative Kory M. Holdaway, R-Salt Lake County, who chairs the higher education appropriations subcommittee, and Representative John Dougall, R-Utah County, who also sits on that committee. Incidentally, Senate Bill 121’s eventual approval by the higher education appropriations subcommittee last Wednesday afternoon coincided with the student visit from earlier that morning. The initiative now awaits approval from both the Senate and House of Representatives. “We get a lot of different groups up here lobbying, and you’re going to be considered one of those groups,” Sen. Hickman told the group of DSC students. “But you’re a group that’s 300 miles away. It isn’t like you’re a group from downtown or a group from somewhere on the Wasatch Front. You feel strongly enough about this that you’ve come 300 miles to talk about it and solicit (lawmakers’) support. Senator Hickman told the students that a similar groundswell of support was needed in 1999 when he introduced the bill that originally made Dixie a baccalaureate institution in 2000. “We never would have gotten Dixie State to four-year status had we not had the active support of the community – I had city leaders, and fathers, and other folks up here almost on a weekly basis,” Sen. Hickman told the students. “When (the bill) got over to the Senate, the Senate President didn’t like the bill and wanted to sit on it. It took a lot of pressure – not from me – but from members of our community who traveled up here and said, ‘We want this bill, and it’s important to us.’ There was a bunch of people who really went to bat for it, and that’s kind of what you’re doing today.” Jerris Heaton, a junior student from Hurricane majoring in computer & information technology, was one of the students who took time out of his busy schedule to travel to Salt Lake last week. “It was very enlightening for me, just because the grand majority of students think that legislators during their 45- day session have a lot of luncheons, and free time, and then just go in and vote once in awhile,” Heaton said. “There’s actually a lot more that goes on in the political process. To actually be able to go out on the House floor and hear the bell ring announcing a new vote was quite enthralling. It brings a new understanding to what democracy really is.” Representatives David Clark, Brad Last, and Steve Urquhart, all from Washington County, also took time to meet with the student contingency. Rep. Urquhart ushered the students right onto the House floor for an up close and personal look at the political process. “I think it’s wonderful to have (the students) here,” said Rep. Urquhart. “It’s always nice to have people from home visiting. It reminds us that people are watching and care about what we’re doing, and I hope it’s good for the students to get a closer look at government. We try to let our hair down and talk to them one on one to give them a little peak behind th e scenes. I think it’s beneficial to see that these are just average people making decisions that affect the state. And I hope that it instills in them the belief that some day they should be occupying these seats and making these decisions for the state. “(Senator Hickman’s small college enhancement bill) has some high hurdles to clear, but this early in the session, hope springs eternal,” Urquhart said. “We’re going to have a lot of work to get it across the finish line, but I’m optimistic we’ll do that.”
“The idea of a film series started when some of us tried to think of a better way of honoring Bob than simply sending flowers to the funeral,” said Terre Burton, English composition and literature professor at Dixie State C ollege, who first came up with the idea of the festival in 2002. “He had been one of us for so long at the college that we thought it fitting to honor him in a way that exemplifies what he loved doing.” A series of films will be featured as part of the festival throughout this semester, the first of which, Jean Renoir’s 1938 masterpiece “Grand Illusion,” will be shown Thursday, Feb. 2 at 7:30 p.m. in DSC’s Dunford Auditorium. Set in a German prison camp during World War I, the film's story depicts both an escape adventure and the struggle for racial and cultural identity among a quartet of officers. “Grand Illusion” is an elegant, lovingly detailed drama that highlights the hypocrisy of war, said Bob Dalton Film Series coordinator Charles Cuthbertson, who teaches English at the college. Running time is 114 minutes. The film would probably be rated a light PG by today's standards, Cuthbertson said. “Future films in the Bob Dalton Film Series will include cinema classics from decades past and overlooked gems from recent years,” said Cuthbertson. “The goal of this year's series will be to provide a venue for viewing and discussing films in a non-commercialized format.” All screenings in the series will be free of charge. A brief introduction will be provided before each film. On occasion, short films will be screened before the main feature. Reviews of the film can be found at the following sites: http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/19991003/REVIEWS08/910030301/1023http://www.thenation.com/doc/19990830/klawans Soon after Dalton’s passing, those close to him began making donations to the video collection at t he DSC library as a way to honor him. A number of faculty members and Dalton’s film students have also given money to the library for additional purchases toward what will be known as the Bob Dalton Film Collection. Dalton began teaching at the college in 1957 and taught both English and philosophy over a 30-year period. In 1965, he originated and administered the Dixie College Associated Students’ Film Series. An average of 30 films were shown per year as a part of that series. Dalton was also the recipient of 12 grants from the Utah Humanities Council to administer both film and film/lecture series. For 12 years during his career Dalton doubled as library director and, in 1965, founded the Celebrity Concert Series. Dalton also worked as director of Dixie College Cultural Affairs and manager of the O.C. Tanner Amphitheatre. Members of the community are invited to all three showings of the film festival. For more information about the Bob Dalton Film Festival, call Charles Cuthbertson at 652-7821 .
The late Dr. Wallace Lee, who passed away last year after a battle with cancer, will be honored at this year’s show, along with wife, Joan, and their children. Lee’s artwork has long been a favorite of the Sears Dixie Invitational Art Show. His watercolor “Snowfall in Snow Canyon” was the show’s Best of Show Purchase Prize winner in 2002, and his work earned him first place ribbons for four consecutive years in the same category between 1997 and 2000. Lee also taught art classes at Dixie State College. Two of his valuable paintings will be a part of a silent auction to help kick-off the show. In addition to Lee’s work, the Sears Dixie Invitational will feature approximately 175 works from 90 renowned artists from Utah and across the United States. The show has been a mainstay on the campus of Dixie State College for the past 19 years. Award categories for the show include oils, watercolor, pastels, and other media. The show regularly includes several bronze works. This year’s festivities will kick off on Friday, Feb. 17. An art symposium featuring 2005 Purchase Prize winner Steve McGinty will be held at 3 p.m. in the Eccles Fine Arts Center Concert Hall. The opening gala dinner and pre-sale will begin at 6 p.m. in the Eccles Fine Arts Center Grand Foyer. Entertainment for the evening will be provided by DSC’s Concert Choir. An art preview for dinner guests will precede the gala at 4 p.m. For tickets to the gala, call (435) 652-7905. Admission to the symposium is free. Since the inaugural Sears Dixie Invitational Art Show in 1988, a portion of each painting purchased has been allocated to help fund the art gallery in the newly dedicated Eccles Fine Arts Center. The Sears Dixie Invitational Art Show made its debut in that new gallery in 2005, which will remain the show’s permanent home. Appropriately enough, the gallery bears the name of the show’s founders, Peggy and the late Bob Sears. The exhibit will open to the public Saturday, Feb. 18, and will be on display through Mar. 22. Exhibit hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Sunday. Call (435) 652-7905 for more information.
DSC Football Coach Recovering After Open Heart Surgery “I’m vertical and not horizontal, so that’s a good thing,” Croshaw said. “They had me up and walking the day after surgery. There’s a recovery period of about four to six weeks on something like this, but within a reasonably short amount of time, I should be back to full strength.
“Dr. Roger Millar performed the surgery, and he’s one of the tops in the country,” Croshaw continued. “To be able to do this procedure right here in St. George is a pretty amazing thing when you think of how far this city has come, especially over the last little while.”
The timing of the surgery happened to coincide with the tail end of recruiting season, but the bul
k of the recruiting had already been taken care of, Croshaw said.
“I was going to have the surgery the first part of next month, as soon as recruiting period was completely over, but things were at the point where it was just as easy to do it right now.”
Croshaw just capped his 24th season coaching the Dixie State football team. Since he took over the coaching helm, the Rebels have finished the season ranked No. 2 or No. 3 in the nation 13 separate times. The Rebels finished this past season with a record of 9-3 and a national ranking of 11th.
A series of two commercials produced by DSC communication students Tennille Olsen and Joseph Winter will air at the festival as winners of the Utah Film Commission’s third annual “Spot On” Commercial Contest. The entry is one of just six commercial entries selected to represent the Commission on Park City Television’s “In the Can” program, which has become required viewing for many motion picture executives. The spots
will later air in the Los Angeles and New York markets. The annual contest is open to all local amateur and professional filmmakers, videographers and producers. Each contestant is charged with producing a :30 second commercial spot aimed to market the state of Utah as a filmmaking destination. This year’s contest had 128 entries from production companies throughout the state. In addition to earning $1,500 for their efforts, Olsen and Winter will also be honored guests of the Sundance Film Festival where they will have opportunities to meet and network with producers, directors and studio executives. The commercial series, entitled “One Giant Sound Stage,” is posted on the Utah Film Commission’s website at http://film.utah.gov. This is the second consecutive year that DSC film students have won at the Utah Film Commission event. Last year, Ben Braten and John Mortensen’s commercial “Lights, Camera, Distraction” was one of five commercials to receive honors. DSC’s communication & new media degree is the latest baccalaureate degree to be offered at Dixie State College, which began offering four-year degrees in 2000. The communication and new media program got underway in fall 2005. The new program includes components in business communications; web design, publishing, and online journalism; and digital motion picture production & broadcast. For more information about the program, visit mpp.dixie.edu. Results of the Capstone International Fall 2005 Challenge final round were as follows in order of cumulative profits: First Place: Jim LaRocca and Joe Leonard; Baldwin Wallace College; Professor Susan Kuznik. 2nd Place: Keitchai Manaboriboon; Webster University Thailand; Professor Richard Berry 3rd Place: Ricardo Guerrero and Rodolfo Ramirez; Universidad Técnica Federico Santa María (Chile); Professor Lionel Valenzuela 4th Place: Jessica Dwelly; Douglas O'Connor; Kim Robbins and Maria Sameiro; University of Mass achusetts – Dartmouth; Professor Chris Papenhausen
5th Place: Michael Heaton; Dixie State College; Professor Bill Christensen 6th Place: Michael Germano and Steven Sohcot; Quinnipiac University; Professor David Cadden Once each semester, Illinois-based Management Solutions, Inc., which owns the simulation software, invites students using their simulation to enter the intercollegiate global competition. Students are normally either upper division business students or graduate business students. Finalists were selected by taking the highest team cumulative profit from each institution, then selecting the six most profitable from that list. The final six then went toe to toe amongst themselves. “This Challenge is an effective way for these students to apply everything they have learned and to hone their skills before they begin working with real businesses,” said Dan Smith, president of Management Simulations, Inc. and a professor at DePaul University, Chicago. “The Challenge participants list grows year after year because it places every student and every school at the same starting gates and the best team wins. Some students even use the rankings in this competition as a resume booster because it shows competency and drive.” Heaton finished in third place in the preliminary, or qualifying, round of the competition. Fellow student Phyllip Heaton (no relation to Michael), from St. George, Utah, came in fourth place in the prelims. Only one team per school is allowed in the final round, however, so Michael Heaton went on to represent DSC in the finals. Since fall semester 2004, DSC students have now finished second, third, fourth, eighth, eleventh, and twenty-first in the preliminary round of the competition.
DSC business professor Dr. Bill Christensen uses the simulation competition as part of the curriculum for the college’s strategic management course, the capstone course to DSC’s four-year business administration program. The goal is to give students the opportunity to integrate what they have learned in their various business courses in a near-real business experience. The simulation is sophisticated enough that it is also used to train top business executives around the country, Christensen said. Heaton actually completed his coursework for his bachelor’s degree this past summer at Dixie State, but opted to audit the course in the fall at DSC since the competition isn’t offered during the summer months. Heaton is currently pursuing his MBA at Southern Utah University.
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