Skip to content

Katie L. Dixon Women & Girls Leadership Endowed Fund

About Katie L. Dixon girls Leadership Womens leadership pRacticum interest form

 

The Dixon Endowed Fund provides financial support to current College of Social Work sponsored leadership programs including:

  • Dixon Girls Forums – School-based programs that bring diverse groups of female identifying students together to share experiences and support young women as future leaders in schools and communities.
  • Women’s Leadership Forums – Involvement in University and community based programs that support women as leaders in the workplace and community.

Additionally, the Dixon Endowed Fund will make it possible for the College to develop new leadership programs such as:

  • Leadership Seminars – Sessions that provide opportunities for young female identifying students to meet regularly with peers and social workers in their school communities.
  • High-Risk Outreach Programs – Expansion of Girls Leadership Forums to higher risk schools across the state where female identifying students face especially difficult challenges.
  • Community Service Learning Projects – Community volunteer projects, selected by Dixon participants, where they apply the skills they learned in the Forums to address real-life needs in their homes, schools, and community.

The Dixon Girls Forums are supported by the College of Social Work and through generous contributions to the Dixon Fund by family and friends.

 

Katie L. DixonAbout Katie L. Dixon

Katie L. Dixon, through her dedicated service to the College of Social Work and her tireless advocacy for women via private and political efforts, always strived to help women and girls reach new levels of successes.

Ms. Dixon was one of the founding members of the Belle S. Spafford Endowed Chair, but was best known for her service as Salt Lake County Recorder from 1975 to 1995, a record 20 years. During that time, she was active in a number of professional organizations, including:

  • The National Association of Counties
  • The National Association of County Recorders and Clerks
  • Leadership America (Ms. Dixon was the first woman selected to attend)
  • The Institute for Land Information (she was the first female president)
  • The National Women’s Education Fund
  • The National Historic Publications and Records Commission
  • The American Society for Public Administration
     

She took on numerous other leadership roles by serving on the boards and committees of many Utah organizations. The list is long, but includes:

  • The University of Utah College of Social Work
  • Utah State Board of Education 
  • Utah State University College of Business
  • The Utah Women’s Art Project
  • Salt Lake Community College
  • The American Lung Association of Utah
  • Westminster College Foundation
  • Utah Opera Guild
  • Utah Women’s Forum
  • Utah Women’s Political Caucus
  • Fifty States Project on Discrimination Against Women in the Law

Ms. Dixon and her contributions to her community were recognized time and again by a wide variety of local and national groups. Among many other honors and awards, she received:

  • The Senator Arthur V. Watkins Distinguished Service Award
  • Certificate of Honor “Making a Difference for Women,”
  • The Susa Young Gates Award for Outstanding Contributions to Utah Women and Human Rights
  • Alumna of the Year
  • Honorary Chairman of Annual Banquet

 

Through the Katie L. Dixon Women & Girls Leadership Endowed Fund, the College of Social Work hopes to inspire today's young women with the same strength of character and commitment that Ms. Dixon exemplified.

Katie L. Dixon was born to make a difference - she passed away August 3, 2008.

 

 

Last Updated: 2/2/24