Officials, students cut ribbon on Bristlecone Hall, SUU’s new ‘transformative’ classroom building

Written by Jeff Richards
May 7, 2023

CEDAR CITY — Bristlecone Hall, Southern Utah University’s new state-of-the-art $45 million classroom building, officially opened last week.

Southern Utah University’s new Bristlecone Hall, which officially opened in Cedar City, Utah, April 27, 2023 | Photo by Jeff Richards, St. George News / Cedar City News

The ribbon-cutting event took place the morning of April 27, one day before SUU’s commencement ceremony.

The three-story, 90,000-square-foot facility, located just south of the America First Event Center, features 17 classrooms, seven labs, seven art and film studios, in addition to 80 faculty and staff offices and open workstations.

The building will serve as the new home of multiple departments, including filmmaking, art and design; history, sociology and anthropology; and mathematics, as well as housing the office of the dean of the College of Performing and Visual Arts.

“This is quite a potpourri of functions at the school but is indicative of the fact that we have doubled the enrollment of SUU in the last nine years and we need more space,” Marvin Dodge said in his welcoming remarks.

Dodge is SUU’s outgoing vice president for finance and administrative services; he recently started working his new job in Gov. Spencer Cox’s cabinet as the executive director of the Utah Department of Government Operations.

“And so, this is a building that’s perfect for the time and the circumstance to allow us to house all of these departments and many of our wonderful faculty, in addition to the classrooms, the facilities and labs that are built within,” Dodge added. “The State Legislature paid for every dime of this building.

“It’s unusual for an institution of higher education to not have to go out and raise millions of dollars, to be in partnership with the Legislature. So we’re grateful for this gift from our legislative friends, from Gov. Cox, and from the taxpayers of Utah, quite frankly, who continue to invest in higher education in Utah.”

Also speaking during the half-hour ceremony were Chad Nielson of MHTN Architects, Jeff Palmer of Layton Construction, state Senators Evan Vickers and Don Ipson and SUU President Mindy Benson.

“Like a successful movie, the success of this project is not the result of a single individual, but rather an entire team working together to carry out the vision of the director,” Nielson said. “We are here today to share in the success of the completion of Bristlecone Hall. The leadership of Southern Utah University was its director, whose forward-thinking vision made this a one-of-a-kind facility and made it all possible.”

Nielson noted that the building’s location at an intersection “between campus and community” influenced the university’s vision for the project. He listed many of the design features and functional qualities of the building and the spaces within.

Attendees at the ribbon-cutting ceremony for SUU’s new Bristlecone Hall classroom building, Cedar City, Utah, April 27, 2023 | Photo by Jeff Richards, St. George News / Cedar City News

“Unique to this building is a large film studio, and it has within it a cyclorama wall,” Nielson said, touching again on the filmmaking analogy. “A cyclorama wall is a backdrop that utilizes curved surfaces that gives an illusion of an infinity background. And in filmmaking, this effect gives you the perception that nothing exists behind the subject, allowing the subject to be the center of attention.

“Like the concept of the cyclorama, the leadership here at SUU has served as the backdrop to put the students, the faculty, the staff and the community as the focal point as the center of attention for an enriched academic experience.”

Palmer noted that approximately 191,000 hours of labor had gone into the project over the past two years.

Much of that work, he added, was done “in a time that was crazy in terms of construction, in terms of finding labor, as well as even finding materials.”

“Those materials are roughly about 455 tons of steel, 64 miles of wire, 80 miles of conduit, with materials that came from around the world, all put in place here in beautiful Cedar City,” Palmer added. “This represented the efforts of roughly 33 different companies who showed up on site. Five of those were from Cedar City — you should be very proud of the talent you have here. Eight of those came from Washington County and the rest throughout Utah.”

As he collectively thanked all who were involved, Palmer mentioned a few key people in particular, including SUU’s Tiger Funk and Ben Johnson, who served as project managers.

Sen. Don Ipson speaks during the ribbon-cutting ceremony for SUU’s new Bristlecone Hall classroom building, Cedar City, Utah, April 27, 2023 | Photo by Jeff Richards, St. George News / Cedar City News

Sen. Vickers also commended everyone who worked on the project.

“I’ve watched SUU set an example with the buildings that they’ve built — and this one is no exception — about how they’re functional, there’s no space wasted, they’re beautiful and they’re something to be proud of,” Vickers said.

“As you walk into this building, you’re going to see spaces that students are going to be remembering with fondness,” Vickers said. “They may meet their future husband or wife in a space in this building. They may meet friends, like I’ve met, that are lifelong friends that we still keep in touch (with) today.”

Sen. Ipson spoke of how the Utah Legislature approved the funding for the building a little more than two years ago.

“You go back to 2021, … the budgeting process was very well along and this building wasn’t one of them,” Ipson said. “And, you know, at the legislature, we have some sleepless nights. This one night, I woke up and didn’t have anything to think about. I thought about this building and I realized how SUU had been great stewards of building buildings.”

“So I went back to leadership that following morning, and I said, ‘I’ve got an idea. Let’s fund this building. And I think that we can bring it in for less money, under budget, and use this as an example to the rest of the state on how to build buildings,’” he added. “And (I) was lucky enough to get them to go along with that.”

Ipson also commended those who worked on the building and spoke of the anticipated impact it will have on students.

“I’m really proud to be here with you today to cut this ribbon and introduce this building to the students that will use it,” Ipson said. “And like Sen. Vickers said, you know, it will be life-changing for the students that pass through this building, the friends they will make, and maybe eternal friends and even spouses that they may meet. This is a great day for SUU.”

During her remarks, Benson said the building will be “transformative for students.”

“As I look at this building and as I’ve toured this building, I think this takes SUU into the next century — well into the next century,” she said. “Our founders could not have envisioned even the technology that’s in this building, let alone the gorgeous facility that it is.”

Southern Utah University President Mindy Benson speaks during the ribbon-cutting ceremony for SUU’s new Bristlecone Hall classroom building, Cedar City, Utah, April 27, 2023 | Photo by Jeff Richards, St. George News / Cedar City News

Benson said even as those in the crowd were outside awaiting the official ribbon cutting, there were already people attending a class inside.

“Lest you think that we are waiting around for things to happen — oh no, we actually held our first event in this building today,” she said, pointing out that filmmaker Derral Eves, executive producer of the TV series “The Chosen” was holding an international YouTube conference in one of Bristlecone Hall’s larger classrooms.

“People from all over flew in to experience SUU today,” she added. “So thank you for breaking the building in for us.”

Benson concluded by explaining the symbolism associated with the bristlecone pine tree, which has been associated with SUU ever since it was introduced by one of her predecessors, Royden Braithwaite, who served as president of the institution from 1955-1978 when it was known as College of Southern Utah and then Southern Utah State College.

“The endurance of the bristlecone relates to SUU’s motto: Learning Lives Forever,” Benson said, noting that bristlecone pines can live for thousands of years.

Students, staff and officials walk through Southern Utah University’s new Bristlecone Hall classroom building, which officially opened in Cedar City, Utah, April 27, 2023 | Photo by Jeff Richards, St. George News / Cedar City News

“Bristlecones also have the remarkable ability to thrive in favorable and unfavorable conditions,” she said. “They constantly adapt to changing conditions and learn how to survive and thrive through those changes. Not only does learning live forever on our campus, but it also comes through sacrifice, adaptability and resilience.

“The name Bristlecone Hall represents what our hope is for the students who are taught within these walls: the ability to be resilient, to constantly adapt, learn and grow. I hope this symbol of the bristlecone featured in this building will inspire all of us to be lifelong learners and find ways to thrive even in the midst of challenging conditions.”

Following Benson’s remarks, it was time for the succession of ceremonial ribbon cuttings. The last and largest group represented was the students themselves, who then opened the building’s north doors and flocked inside to check out the interior.

One of the first features they noticed was a large art installation along the west wall of the main entryway. It resembles a striated redrock formation but is actually a wooden sculpture titled “The Persistence of Time” by artist Ben Butler. Other elements of the building incorporate a geographic motif, including topographic lines and cutout trees along walls and rooms named for local, national parks.

Bristlecone Hall is located at the northeast corner of the intersection of 800 West and Thunderbird Way (about 200 South).

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Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2023, all rights reserved.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jeff Richards, a native of Salt Lake City with family roots in Panguitch, lived in Moab for 20 years before joining St. George News in 2017. Jeff is a longtime journalist and secondary school teacher. He and his wife Penny are the parents of five daughters. They also have three young grandsons. Jeff and his family enjoy swimming, camping, sightseeing, reading, and taking pictures.

Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @stgnews@moabjeff@stgnewssports

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