Dixie Academy scrapbook

St. George Stake Academy opened in the St. George Tabernacle in 1888. It offered classes in theology, grammar, arithmetic, hygiene, orthography, and others. This first academy only lasted a few years.

The second iteration of St. George Stake Academy was established in 1911 with the original campus on the northwest corner of Main Street and 100 South in Saint George, Utah. High school classes were taught in the original building for the campus, which still stands, and is currently the St. George Children’s Museum. This second academy was successful and grew with the small city. In 1913, the first class of thirteen students graduated from St. George Stake Academy when the population of Saint George was about 1,700 people. The name for the institution changed to Dixie Normal College a few years after its creation, in 1918, when college classes to train new teachers were added to the course offerings. The name was changed to Dixie College in 1923 until 1933 as more college programs were offered. In 1934, the name changed slightly to Dixie Junior College as oversight was transferred to the state. The school’s name legally changed back to Dixie College in 1971, although it may have operated under this name as early as 1952. The campus moved to its current location at 225 South 700 East in 1963, which is when the Dixie High School and Dixie College became separate entities. Then, in 2000, the name was changed to Dixie State College of Utah as bachelor degrees were added. The school became Dixie State University in 2013 as the school was approved to offer graduate degrees. In 2020, Saint George had a population of about 95,300, and the university had approximately 12,000 students enrolled in over 125 programs including masters, bachelors, associates, certificates, and endorsements. The school’s name was once again updated in 2022 to Utah Tech University to strongly identify the location and academic mission of the university outside of Utah.