SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- Amid moves to take down Confederate flags nationwide, some have said Utah's Dixie State University should re-open a discussion about changing its name.
Professor Dannelle Larsen-Rife said the name Dixie can have racist associations for people and changing it would improve the school's image.
A group unsuccessfully pushed for a new name when the school attained university status two years ago.
Larsen-Rife said the issue merited another look after the killing of nine black churchgoers in South Carolina renewed calls to remove the flag.
The university's name dates to the 1800s, when Mormon settlers tried to make the region a cotton-growing mecca. Supporters said the name was important to the area's history and isn't connected to racism.
Dixie State spokesman Steve Johnson said school officials have not been considering changing the name.
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