The State Board of Regents appointed Stephen Nadauld to be the interim president of Dixie State College on Thursday, after President Lee Caldwell resigned for what Dixie spokesman Steve Johnson said to be “personal and confidential reasons.”
Regents spokeswoman Amanda Covington said the change in leadership will not affect efforts by the U and Dixie State College to establish a closer affiliation between the two schools. She said the Regents assigned Nadauld to continue the discussions with the U and that Nadauld was “very supportive of that.”
U President Michael Young said he has an enormous respect for Caldwell’s leadership at Dixie State and he hopes the work for the partnership will move ahead.
“Lee brought a wonderful combination of experience in both the private and public sectors to the presidency of Dixie State College, and has been a tireless advocate for higher education in Utah,” Young said in a statement. “I have particularly been pleased to come to know him and the college better over the past year as we have discussed how our two schools might work more closely together. I hope we will continue to have the benefit of his advice and counsel going forward as well.”
As a former president of Weber State University, Nadauld is prepared to take on the position, Covington said. Nadauld was president of WSU from 1985 to 1990.
“He has seen Weber State University through transition and growth and understands the role of a public institution president within the system,” she said.
Nadauld teaches finance in the Marriott School of Management at Brigham Young University and has held positions in the school, including directing the Master of Business Administration Program. He also taught finance courses at the U and the University of California at Berkeley.
Covington said Nadauld was also chosen for his role in the community. He serves on the boards of the Deseret Book Corporation, the O.C. Tanner Corporation and the Utah Higher Education Assistance Authority. He also served as a member of the Second Quorum of the Seventy for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1991 to 1996.
U Board of Trustees Chair Randy Dryer said Caldwell’s resignation and the new appointment should not adversely affect the possible closer affiliation, although he said he doesn’t know how Nadauld feels about it.
“I don’t know if it will have any impact, but it will take him time to get up to speed on the issue,” Dryer said.
The U and Dixie State will continue to participate in a task force comprised of administrators from both schools to investigate options for the affiliation, he said.
Dixie State trustees asked the U to join the two schools in early September and possibly change the name of the college to the University of Utah, St. George. Dryer said the U would be excited to seek a closer affiliation between the two schools and help with curricula and programs, but it would have to be done according to certain conditions, which could include changing the name and having the school’s chancellor report to President Young.
Dryer said Caldwell was a “very strong supporter” of the closer affiliation. Most Dixie trustees are supportive, but some St. George residents and trustees expressed opposition to the name change because they said it pays tribute to Southern Utah’s pioneer heritage and attempts by early pioneers to grow cotton. Young said the name has connotations of the Deep South, the Confederacy, slavery and racism, and would make recruitment difficult on a national level.
The task force recently released an interim report, but no recommendations have been made yet, although Dryer said there has been progress. Task force members have travelled to other universities and colleges that have undergone mergers or affiliations to study their options. The Utah State Legislature also approved $500,000 to support immediate affiliations, such as expanding the number of graduate programs the U offers at Dixie State.
Chuck Wight, U associate vice president for academic affairs and co-chair of the task force, said the interim president won’t likely have any large affect on the affiliation, but a new president could, depending on how he or she feels about the issue.
Covington said a new president might not be appointed for more than a year, depending on the search.
Wight said the task force will move forward, but they are still looking into what the extent of the affiliation will be and how it could affect the governance of Dixie State. The affiliation could range from an informal partnership with no name change and an increased sharing of academic programs to a complete name change, where the head of Dixie State would report to the U president, he said. Wight said a complete merging of the two schools would not be wise.
“I don’t know anyone who thinks it’s a good idea to build a miniature University of Utah in Washington County,” Wight said.
Wight said he hopes the task force will be able to present recommendations to both schools’ presidents by the summer.