December 9, 2025

Dear Faculty and Staff,

Our provost, Dr. Debbie Tahmassebi, has accepted the position of provost and executive vice president at Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Her appointment will put her in charge of Marquette University’s 10 colleges and schools, libraries, Division of Student Affairs and Enrollment Management.

During her 6 years at Westminster, Debbie’s academic leadership facilitated impressive gains in student persistence and success, acquisition and integration of IPSL Global Learning into Westminster’s curriculum and initiatives, growth in graduate health science programs, improvement in faculty compensation structures, and an impressive increase in external grant funding. Her commitments to academic quality and integrity have characterized her contributions to Westminster, from working on collaborative projects with deans and Cabinet colleagues to building connections between Westminster’s academic programs and partners at the University of Utah and BYU.

Debbie’s leadership will be missed across campus. She will continue to serve Westminster through January of 2026; information about interim leadership and celebrations of her contributions will be forthcoming soon. Please join me in thanking Debbie as well as congratulating her on this next step of her professional journey.

Regards,
Beth Dobkin
President