Carol Nixon, former Gov. Norm Bangerter's chief of staff at the end of his term, has been named director of the state Division of Community De-vel-op-ment Services.
She will be returning to the state Department of Community and Economic Development, where she held the position of director of the state Division of Fine Arts for six years.Nixon left that job to join the governor's staff in August 1991 as deputy chief of staff and later was named Bangerter's fifth and final chief of staff. She is believed to be the first woman chief of staff to a Utah governor.
Nixon succeeds A. Barclay Gardner, who retired when Gov. Mike Leavitt took office earlier this month. The job has also been held by Lt. Gov. Olene Walker, who left the division to run for office last year.
Nixon has been politically active for years, working with Republican congressional representatives from Idaho and Utah, including Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah.
"Carol's years of public and government service will serve her, and our state, well as she focuses on a new task of assisting to maintain and develop vital community infrastructure in our state," said Joe Jenkins, executive director of the department.
The Division of Community Development Services assists local governments in the development and maintenance of necessary public infrastructure and services.
Funds administered by the division include state and federal programs for low-cost housing, homeless assistance and other government services.