University Avenue leads community members down the road of education.
The St. George City council unanimously voted Oct. 17 to name 700 East University Avenue. The new name comes with support from community members, local government leaders and school officials.
“If you have a university in your town, you need a University Avenue,” President Stephen Nadauld said. “It is fun and brings school spirit to the town.”
St. George has not been considered a college town in the past, which is something Nadauld and city council members have been trying to change.
“Changing the name of the street shows some coordinated effort between the school and the community,” Nadauld said. “We are hoping that it helps both of them grow.”
After the change was announced, some were worried the name change would ruin the grid system St. George streets are based on.
“We already called the post office and have things sorted out,” Nadauld said. “While the signs will say University Avenue, the street will still technically be 700 East. People won’t need to change their address and will be free to choose what name they would like to have on their envelopes. Of course I hope they choose to have it say ‘University Avenue.’”
Sarah Melling, a sophomore a general education major from Spanish Fork, said she was worried she would have to change her mailing address with the new name change. However, she is excited to live on University Avenue.
“It is pretty cool,” Melling said. “Not everyone gets to live on a University Avenue.”
Officials don’t know when the new signs will be put up, but they imagine it will not take long because of the past experiences they have had when the school was changed to a university, Nadauld said.
“The state had the signs changed on the freeway very fast after we achieved university status, and I assume the same thing will happen in this situation as well,” Nadauld said.
Extra publicity was another benefit that came with the new university title.
“It is an inexpensive way to get our name out there,” Nadauld said. “The more branding a school has, the better it is. Even if it is something like a street sign, it is a big deal.”
The new name creates an image of learning in the community, Nadauld said.
“We want people to be able to drive down the road and know that they can find an education at the end of the road,” Nadauld said.
