SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Utah lawmakers are set to vote on a name change for southern Utah’s Dixie State University next week.

A bill to rename it Utah Technical University will be considered in a special session next week where lawmakers will also vote on redistricting, Republican Rep. Kelly Miles of South Ogden told Fox13 news it’s expected to get a hearing before the Education Interim Committee on Tuesday.

The step comes after numerous public hearings, focus groups and a vote in favor of a name change from the Utah System of Higher Education.

Supporters of changing “Dixie” have pointed to difficulties in recruiting and retaining students, who link the name to the South, the Civil War and the Confederacy. Past yearbooks show students in blackface, Confederate flags and the former mascot dubbed “The Rebel.”

Opponents of the name change insist the name comes from  pioneers who settled in the St. George area to grow cotton. They have recently begun launching campaigns to pressure lawmakers to resist a name change, accusing the state of giving in to “cancel culture.” The Washington County Commission recently passed a resolution supporting keeping the “Dixie” name for the school.

Miles said that after an extensive input-gathering process, he expects the Legislature to support a name change. Governor Spencer Cox would also be expected to sign it.