Meet the 3 finalists to serve as the next president of Utah Tech University

ST. GEORGE — Utah Tech University has finalized a comprehensive search for its next president, narrowing the list for the next leader of the state's southernmost university to three people: Philip Cavalier, Steven Hafen and Shane Smeed.

On Monday, the finalists participated in a public forum where they answered questions from Utah Tech faculty, staff and students, as well as community members.

"Each finalist understands the important connection Utah Tech has in the community and each brings unique experience and leadership that will help shape the future of the institution," said Deven Macdonald, Utah Tech board of trustees member and presidential search committee co-chair.

The university's former president, Richard "Biff" Williams, announced in December 2023 that he would step down after 10 years at the school to pursue other opportunities.

Cavalier currently serves as the provost and senior vice chancellor for academic affairs at the University of Tennessee at Martin, a position he has held for nearly seven years. He has compiled more than two decades of leadership experience in higher education.

Hafen is the current administration vice president and chief financial officer at Brigham Young University, where he oversees the following divisions: financial services, physical facilities, human resources, purchasing and travel, auxiliaries and programs and BYU police and BYU security.

The third candidate, Smeed, is a Utah native who has served as president of Park University in Missouri since November 2020 and brings over 25 years of experience in higher education to the table.

A handful of the questions were asked to all the candidates, signaling what the campus community and beyond is looking for in Utah Tech's next president.

Capital campaign

A question that was presented to all three candidates was about their ability to lead a capital campaign for the university, rather than relying on tuition or legislative appropriations.

Cavalier got the first crack at answering.

"The key to getting a campaign like that together and making it successful is ensuring that you've done the lead-up work to touch the different donors that you think are going to hit certain parts of your donor pyramid," Cavalier said. "If you don't do that work ahead of time, then there's no point in having a $100 million campaign. It will take time for whoever's the next president to develop those relationships. But when those relationships have been developed, I think you will have a successful capital campaign."

Hafen called a prospective capital campaign a "key revenue source" for the university and said it would be a major priority for him if hired.

"This takes proactive action from the president's position," Hafen said, noting that he works side-by-side with BYU's vice president for advancement. "In this role, I would play a more proactive role in that. It would be reaching out. I have good relationships in the business community. I have good relationships, particularly in the technology industry. Whether it's raising money or getting support in other ways, I have full confidence that I could reach out and establish those relationships."

Smeed, the only candidate who has experience as a higher-education president, spoke about how he launched the largest comprehensive fundraising campaign in the history of Park University.

"My promise is that I would be outward facing, spending time with alumni and spending time with members of the community to find out where they would like to provide support," Smeed said. "This is an important time right now to not only work closely with the Legislature, and to work closely to grow enrollment through tuition revenue, but I find one of the most exciting ways is to grow revenues through fundraising activities."

Ditching 'Dixie'

In July 2022, what was formerly known as Dixie State University officially changed its name to Utah Tech University following lengthy debates about whether changing the moniker would betray the community or give students a better chance of succeeding.

Three years later, residents are still feeling the burn that came with moving on from the old name, saying the university has struggled to connect with individuals who felt a sense of allegiance to the name. Some even alluded to the name change as a reason the university has lost a portion of its financial support.

Smeed said that in 2000, Park University transitioned to university status, leaving behind its old moniker of Park College.

"When I meet with alumni today ... what do they call it? They call it Park College. My role as the president is really to allow them to feel that great love and rapport and times that they've had in those environments but really embrace the excitement that's coming with university status, or in this case, Utah Tech University," Smeed said.

He added that, if selected, he wants to spend time with alumni and help them gain more of an affinity toward the name change and what it means to be a polytechnic university.

Hafen spoke to the university's "long and incredible history," adding that he would also try to connect with community members who felt abandoned by the name change.

"It's got a great heritage. And there's so many positive things about embracing that heritage while also recognizing that it has evolved and changed and will continue to evolve and change," Hafen said. "There's a way to balance those two things. We don't have to walk away from the history or the heritage in order to map out the future that looks so bright. I think you can do both and in fact, if you do both, the outcome will be better."

Cavalier said that he'd familiarized himself with the name change and some of the challenges it has created. He went on to say he believes the best of what was happening at Dixie State has continued under its new name.

"This is where development and alumni relations and that groups is going to have to help the next president to understand: 'OK, who are those people who have felt hurt by, excluded by the name change?'" Cavalier said. "Now, that's not to say that someone is going to go meet the person and everything is fixed, but I think it's critical to reengage those folks and do it fairly early on so that at least it's clear that the intention is to have all of those folks as part of this Utah Tech community, not just some."

Next steps

The Utah Board of Higher Education will interview the finalists in a closed session on Wednesday. The board may convene a public meeting at Utah Tech University in the Zion Room in the Holland Centennial Commons at 5:30 p.m. that day to select the president, or it may convene at another time. In that case, a meeting will be announced at a later date.

The full bios for the three finalists, along with more information on the search process, can be found online at utahtech.edu/presidentialsearch.

Related topics