After 40 years in higher education, including what will be 8 years at the helm of Westminster University, President Bethami Dobkin, Utah’s longest-tenured university president, announced today that she will retire at the end of the 2025-2026 academic year.
During her time at Westminster, President Dobkin led Westminster College’s transition to becoming Westminster University in 2023, reflecting the expansion of graduate and professional programs, including two doctoral programs in the School of Nursing and Health Sciences. During her tenure, she raised $70 million dollars for Westminster, with notable capital achievements including the completion of Florence J. Gillmor Hall and construction of the L.S. Skaggs Integrated Wellness Center. After navigating the university through the COVID-19 pandemic, President Dobkin led the strategic planning for and celebration of Westminster’s sesquicentennial year in 2025, most recently raising $1.3 million for student scholarships at the Sesquicentennial Gala in June.
“President Dobkin’s visionary leadership united our university community around Westminster’s shared values of high-quality inclusive education, integrity, and equality. Her dedication to transforming students’ lives to prepare them to navigate our increasingly complex world is remarkable. The Board of Trustees will continue to work with President Dobkin throughout the current academic year, and in due course we will celebrate President Dobkin’s numerous achievements during her tenure at Westminster University,” said Preston Chiaro, Chair of Westminster University’s Board of Trustees.
“It has been an immense privilege to serve as Westminster University’s nineteenth president,” said President Dobkin. “Working together with faculty, students, staff, alumni, and our generous community has been the honor of a lifetime. After spending 40 years in service to higher education, I look forward to spending more time in California with my family in my retirement. Westminster will always hold a special place in my heart, and I look forward to continuing to serve the university through the end of this academic year."
The Board of Trustees will begin a national search in partnership with Isaacson, Miller, co-chaired by vice chair of the Board of Trustees Amy Wadsworth, and trustee Danny Giovale ’94 for President Dobkin’s replacement, whom they expect will be named in Spring 2026. President Dobkin will continue to serve in her role through the end of the current academic year.
President Dobkin was appointed in 2018, after more than 30 years of teaching and administrative work in higher education. In her first year as president, Westminster University achieved national recognition for the successful career outcomes of its students, its work on sustainability and support for first-generation students, and as a leader in promoting diversity, equity and inclusion. Other landmark achievements of President Dobkin’s tenure include acquiring IPSL Global Engagement, expanding opportunities for Westminster students to engage in study abroad and service-learning experiences and pioneering the launch of Sophomore Study Away in Fall 2025.
President Dobkin launched the first-of-its-kind Mountain Sports Initiative, which provides varsity-level athletic support to student-athletes competing on Westminster’s championship-winning Freeski and Snowboard teams, along with new teams in Mountain Biking and Climbing and Speech and Debate.
Among many other achievements under her leadership, the university opened the Community Clinic and Training Center, providing free mental health care for the Utah community while providing valuable supervised clinical training hours for Master of Clinical Mental Health Counseling students.
Notable recognitions awarded to Westminster University under President Dobkin’s leadership include top rankings from U.S. News & World Report, which named Westminster a Best College in the West, a Best Value School, and a Top Undergraduate Nursing Program in 2025; a Carnegie Classification as “Lower Access, Higher Earnings,” and being ranked #1 by a recent New York Times study as the top university in Utah for student economic mobility.
Before her presidency at Westminster, Dr. Dobkin served for 10 years as the provost and vice president for academic affairs at Saint Mary's College of California, a private, comprehensive, Catholic university. Prior to her time at Saint Mary’s College, Dr. Dobkin spent 18 years at the University of San Diego, a private independent research institution, and achieved the status of University Professor and Associate Provost.
Dr. Dobkin’s considerable volunteer service locally includes the Board of Governors and Chair of the Nominations and Governance Committee for the SLC-UT Committee for the 2034 Winter Olympic Games, the Executive Committee of the Economic Development Corporation of Utah, the Salt Lake Chamber Board of Governors, the American Council on Education’s Council of Fellows, and the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference President’s Executive Committee, among many others.
