What's Happening at Utah Tech?

Shane Smeed, the newly appointed President of Utah Tech University is enthusiastic for this change in his life which is also a moment of historic change within the community and across Utah’s higher education system. Perhaps none of the state’s degree-granting public institutions has experienced the level of growth in recent years as UT.

The school which went from Dixie State College to Dixie State University and in 2022 to Utah Tech University, also changed mascots: Rebels to Red Storm to Trailblazers.

UT’s enrollment has grown every year since 2013, increasing by almost 60% to over 13,000 students today. Of the school’s 304 academic programs, 60% have been developed within the past seven years.

One reason UT is a popular higher ed destination for many Utahns — 82% are in-state students — is affordability.

But the school’s 19th president believes UT’s opportunities extend beyond affordability and program growth.

Smeed is anxious to reconnect with members of the UT community who may have separated themselves from the school which he says is, "an asset for the state ... for the community and Washington County. I see my role as president as every bit ‘externally facing’ as internal — so it’s a great opportunity.”