St. George • After nearly a decade at the helm of Utah Tech University that included rapid growth and moving on from the name “Dixie,” President Richard “Biff” Williams announced Thursday that he is stepping down to pursue other professional opportunities.
Since becoming the institution’s 18th president in 2014, Williams has presided over the university during a period of remarkable expansion and some controversy. In July 2022, Dixie State University was renamed Utah Tech University over heated opposition from some longtime residents.
“I am beyond grateful for my tenure at Utah Tech,” Williams stated in a Dec. 21 news release. “What we have built, experienced and accomplished together is nothing short of remarkable. Our collective success is a testament to what a group of people with passion, skill and purpose can achieve.”
Williams’ resignation is effective Jan. 5. Courtney White, president of the university’s Executive Affairs and Williams’ chief of staff, will be named interim president, subject to approval from the Utah Board of Higher Education, while a nationwide search is conducted for his replacement.
Rapid growth and a new name
Williams said he pushed the school to move on from using Dixie in its name after hearing from alumni who said the name was embarrassing in job interviews and on resumes. The Utah Legislature approved the new name in 2021.
Not everyone was happy. Some residents accused state legislators and university officials of going “woke.”
Last year, Williams told The Tribune that the name change proved to be a good thing.
“There’s always going to be that 10% who are still upset with things and will continue to chip away online,” the president said. “But I’d say the majority of [people] have been extremely supportive.”
Some of the more notable successes during Williams’ tenure include a marked increase in the number of academic degrees and programs the university offers. Since 2014, the number of master’s degree programs has gone from zero to seven. Bachelor’s degree programs have more than doubled over the same time frame, from 23 to 57. The same goes for associate degree programs, which have jumped from 10 to 23. The university has also added its first clinical doctorate in occupational therapy, according to university officials.
(Jud Burkett | Special to The Tribune) The field at Greater Zion Stadium shows the south end zone has been changed out to reflect the new name of Utah Tech University while the north end zone still bears the old Dixie State logo.
Enrollment has also followed an upward trajectory. It currently stands at 12,567, up 51% from the 2014 fall semester, when the institution welcomed 8,341 new students to campus. Moreover, the number of buildings on the 110-acre St. George campus has gone from 49 to 60, with two more under construction, and now covers 1.75 million square feet.
Williams’ announcement comes while he continues interviewing for administrative positions at other institutions of higher learning. By announcing his decision to step down now, Williams said, it should give the Utah Board of High Education enough lead time to secure a new president by the beginning of the university’s fall semester next August.
“Having served for nearly a decade, I have accomplished what I set out to do, and that is grow Utah Tech into a thriving university that offers its students and community second-to-none educational opportunities,” Williams told The Tribune via email. “Utah Tech is in a position where it’s ready to transition to new leadership, and I’m ready for the new opportunities and growth that accompany administrative positions at other institutions of higher learning.”
Years of service
Whoever replaces Williams will have big shoes to fill.
“President Williams has overseen one of the most successful, impactful and unprecedented eras of growth of any institution of higher learning in the nation,” Tiffany Wilson, chair of Utah Tech’s Board of Trustees, said. “His leadership and vision will be tremendously missed, but he will always be remembered as the ultimate Trailblazer.”
Of all his accomplishments, Williams said he is most proud of two strategic plans he oversaw: Dixie 2020, which guided the university’s growth from 2015 to 2020, and Trailblazing Distinction, from 2020 to 2025, which combined to drive up enrollment by 42%, led to the addition of more than 200 academic programs and nearly doubled the number of campus facilities.
“When we first launched Dixie 2020, some skeptics came up to me and said I was setting myself up for failure because the plan was too ambitious,” Williams stated in the email. “However, as a campus and a community, we got to work and not only accomplished all our goals but exceeded them.”
Williams, by most accounts, is known for his ability to connect with faculty and students. He expects his successor will bring her or his own strengths to the position and build on the successes of the past 10 years.
“I hope that Utah Tech will continue to be a strong, open, inclusive, comprehensive, polytechnic university for generations to come and realize its strategic vision so it can continue to be a community pillar,” Williams told The Tribune.
Members of the Utah Board of Higher Education also extended their gratitude to Williams “for his years of service and contributions to the university and expressed confidence in White’s “leadership experience” and ability to fill in for the outgoing president until a successor is named.
“I look forward to considering his appointment as interim,” Board of Higher Education chair Amanda Covington said in the news release.
