Dixie College will dedicate its new $6.7 million Erno and Etel Udvar-Hazy School of Business building March 29.
A large portion of the funding for the new school, $3.5 million, came from Steven and Christine Hazy. The school was named in honor of Steven Hazy's parents. Etel and Erno were born in Budapest, Hungary, where they hid many persecuted Jews and Christians during World War II.The family escaped from Hungary in 1958, moving from New York City to Los Angeles. A graduate of UCLA, Steven Hazy founded Astro Air, a commuter airline, and then started brokering large commercial aircraft to airlines.
In 1973, he and his two partners founded International Lease Finance Corp., which leases aircraft to airlines throughout the world. One of the company's first deals was with Skywest Airlines in St. George.
It was through the Skywest connection that Steven Hazy developed an interest in Dixie College. Saying "a strong college deserves a strong school of business," he decided to fund the project.
An additional $1 million was contributed by private businesses, and the rest came from state appropriations. The three-story, 51,000-square-foot building houses a computer center, faculty technology assistance center, seminar facilities, classrooms and faculty offices.
The celebration of the new school begins on Thursday, March 28, with tours and a dedication gala in the Cox Auditorium. Tours continue on March 29. Also on Friday, the college will present a musical program, "Dixie - The Last 100 Years."
Rich VanAusdal, dean of business and technology, said, "The dedication is the culmination of the hopes and dreams of our business faculty over many years. We were so cramped in our former space, it inhibited our ability grow and achieve goals."
The building was designed by the architectural firm of Ehninger, Fetzer and Tholen of Salt Lake City and was built by Hughes Construction Co.