Home to the cutting-edge equipment and premier learning opportunities students need to meet workforce demand upon graduation, Dixie State University’s Science, Engineering & Technology Building was dedicated during a special Homecoming Week ceremony.
“Although I have just one short year in the new SET Building before I graduate, I can already see how the labs and equipment have elevated my educational experience and provide me with a deeper understanding of the biological field,” Sheena Luy, a senior biomedical sciences major from Zamboanga City, Philippines, said during the dedication ceremony. “I hope as we celebrate this new facility, you remember we are not just celebrating the opening of this beautiful building, but we also are celebrating students’ futures that will be strengthened and the doors that will be opened because of this building and because of this amazing university.”
The state-of-the-art facility opened ahead of the Fall 2021 semester and supports Dixie State’s academic mission as a comprehensive polytechnic university. The building houses 28 specialized labs and classrooms necessary for students to gain active learning experiences that prepare them to graduate career ready. Under construction since October 2019, the five-story building also features three levels of outdoor patios including an astronomy deck.
“Every square foot of the of the 120,000-square-foot building has been intentionally designed for student experiences and learning,” Eric Pedersen, dean of Dixie State’s College of Science, Engineering & Technology, said. “It is clear to me that this building will provide many wonderful hands-on, career-oriented student experiences in science, engineering and technology for decades to come. These experiences will prepare students for their careers and for their lives.”
As part of Dixie State’s “active learning. active life.” approach to education, the SET building will house many of the university’s science, technology, engineering and math courses. Dixie State has added 111 academic programs since 2015 and 85 percent of them are in the STEM or healthcare fields. in line with the institution’s comprehensive polytechnic mission.
“I chose Dixie State because I wanted to follow my dreams and I have not been disappointed,” Baylee Schumacher, a sophomore majoring in engineering at Dixie State, said during the program. “The faculty in the program genuinely care about our success. We are able to work side by side with our professors, learning machinery and prototyping, touring local manufacturing facilities and experiencing first-hand what it looks like to be an engineer in Southern Utah.”
For more information about Dixie State University’s college of Science, Engineering & Technology visit colleges.utahtech.edu/science.