Dixie State College announced Friday the creation of a new minority student scholarship endowment during the Utah State Board of Regents meeting held on the college’s campus.
Even as board of regents member Rev. France Davis placed one of two dissenting votes against university status and retention of the name “Dixie,” the college’s board of trustees announced the formation of a new scholarship for minority students.
A $20,000 anonymous donation was received to establish the new scholarship endowment, which will be named in honor of the Rev. Davis.
Dixie state trustees chair Steven Caplin made the announcement, and also issued a formal apology for offense caused by Dixie state’s decades-long embrace of a confederate identity and other racial insensitivities in the school’s past.
Rev. Davis has served as pastor of the Calvary Baptist church in Salt Lake City since 1974. He also helped lead successful efforts to create the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday in Utah.