Southern Utah University President Mindy Benson addressed the council on July 30 to present enrollment metrics, workforce-alignment data and economic-impact findings and to reaffirm SUU’s role in the city’s economy.
Benson said SUU reported 16,237 students in the last academic year — a figure that includes online and concurrent-enrollment students — and about 9,500 students on campus in Cedar City at a point-in-time count. She said the university’s graduation and retention rates compare favorably in the state and told council members the institution emphasizes workforce-aligned degrees: "Seventy-four percent of all of our degrees are high demand degrees in 4- and 5-star jobs," Benson said.
Benson highlighted SUU’s partnership with Southwest Tech and the university’s custom-fit and dual-enrollment programs, saying Southwest Tech students can take SUU courses at reduced cost and that those arrangements have enrolled 950 students who have earned 5,000 SUU credits. She noted that about 70% of SUU graduates remain in Utah after graduation and that the university employs 2,687 people on campus and supports more than 5,000 total jobs regionally through indirect economic activity.
Benson referenced an economic-impact study that showed regional earnings, GDP and output attributable to SUU, and she said the university is working to reconcile visitor-spending figures with regional partners for a joint estimate of the cultural and tourism impacts (Utah Shakespeare Festival and Summer Games were cited as examples of tourism drivers).
Council members thanked Benson for SUU’s concurrent-enrollment programs and asked about accelerated three-year degree pilots, which Benson said SUU has piloted and would expand pending accreditation pathways. Benson also noted two new campus buildings nearing completion and said the university would request additional STEM/STEM+N nursing funding from the state in the next cycle.
Benson asked the council for continued partnership and thanked city leaders for supporting infrastructure and integration of students and campus life into Cedar City’s downtown and community life.