Westminster Presidential Transition
Dr. Sylvia Torti, PhD
Westminster University's 20th President
Meet Dr. Torti
A highly accomplished academic leader, ecologist, and writer, Dr. Sylvia Torti previously served as the Dean of the Honors College at the University of Utah from 2012–23. In her role as president of the College of the Atlantic, a small liberal arts institution, Torti led the college’s strategic planning process to develop a five-year roadmap, stewarded and built donor relationships resulting in new operational support and student scholarships, and completed an economic impact report to assess the college’s local value to its community and the state of Maine.
Dr. Torti's Vision for Westminster
Unite and energize the Westminster c0mmunity around shared goals and mission.
Create and execute a sustainable business model, including growing enrollment.
Expand fundraising and partnership efforts to foster new collaborations and revenue.
Articulate and amplify Westminster's story of nurturing an integrative education.
The next president has an exciting opportunity to steward and build upon Westminster
University’s legacy, reputation, location, and considerable assets to shape a resilient
and differentiated future. The role is to unite creativity with pragmatism, vision
with strategy, and to ensure that the joy of learning is cultivated and celebrated.”
Dr. Sylvia Torti
Higher education should inspire students to use their imaginations for self and society.
Students find their way in life, see their place and value among disparate beliefs
and thoughts. Knowing what others know. Valuing what others bring. Doing what is only
possible with others. Higher education is more than the first step toward a job; it
is about developing personal meaning for the kind of life one will lead and building
capacities to use one’s talents for the common good.”
Dr. Sylvia Torti
After serving 40 years in higher education and 8 years at Westminster University, President Bethami Dobkin announced that she will retire at the end of the 2025–26 academic year. The Board of Trustees partnered with Isaacson, Miller throughout the year to conduct a national search for Westminster’s 20th president.
About the Search Process
The search committee provided several opportunities for members of the Westminster community to share their ideas about the values, experience, and strengths needed in the next president. Individuals were strongly encouraged to send written feedback and candidate nominations.
The next president will join Westminster University at a pivotal moment, with the university well-positioned for success. This is a remarkable opportunity for an experienced and accomplished leader to build on strong values and coalesce the community around an ambitious, yet realistic, shared vision for the future. Westminster’s next president must be an effective leader and manager and address the following key opportunities and challenges:
- Engage, inspire, and unite a highly passionate campus community around common goals to fulfill Westminster’s mission, values, and ambitions
- Expand fundraising and partnership efforts to foster new collaborations and revenue
- Create and execute a sustainable business model
- Grow enrollment to support Westminster’s vibrant future
- Articulate and amplify Westminster’s story
The search committee’s goal is to attract and recruit the most qualified individual possible to be Westminster's next president. Most qualified candidates will only participate in a search that keeps their identities strictly confidential, given the sensitivities at their current institutions. As a result, and consistent with the best practices followed by private colleges and universities, Westminster has decided to conduct a confidential search.
The search committee is co-chaired by trustees Amy Wadsworth and Danny Giovale ’94. It includes 8 members of the Board of Trustees and 7 members of the campus community:
- Amy Wadsworth, Co-Chair, Trustee
- Danny Giovale, Co-Chair, Trustee
- Lisa Michele Church, Trustee
- Catherine Foster, Trustee
- L. Jackson Newell, Trustee
- Catherine Putnam-Netto, Trustee
- Sidni Shorter, Trustee
- Engels Tejeda, Trustee
- Jeanne Ambruster, Trustee Emeritus
- Daniel Lewis, Administration, VP Institutional Advancement
- Chelsea Dye, Faculty, Assistant Professor of Accounting
- Kelly Asao, Faculty, Associate Professor of Psychology
- Lance Newman, Interim Provost
- Winter Morse, Staff, Associate Vice President for Information Systems
- Max Gutierrez, Student, ASW President
- Stephanie Tobey, Alumni Board Chair
The search committee plans to work through the 2025–26 academic year. The Board’s charge to the committee is to have a new president in place by July 1, 2026.
- September 2025
- First search committee and firm meeting
- Campus listening sessions
- October 2025
- Draft presidential position description
- Publish presidential position
- December 2025
- Review first round of applicants
- First round of interviews with search firm
- January 2026
- Review second round of applicants
- Review final applicant pool
- February 2026
- Video interviews with final 3-4 candidates
- Reference and background checks
- Second and final interviews with candidates
- Final recommendations to Board of Trustees
- Late March/Early April 2026
- Vote by Board of Trustees
- Announcement to campus community
The Board of Trustees makes the final decision to appoint a new president.
The Board of Trustees partnered with Isaacson, Miller to conduct a national search for Westminster’s 20th president.
Lindsay Gold and Courtney Wilk-Mandel are leading this presidential search with Jaime Morgen.
President Dobkin's Legacy of Progress
- Oversaw Westminster College’s transition to becoming Westminster University in 2023, reflecting the expansion of programs–including 2 doctoral programs in the School of Nursing and Health Sciences
- Raised $70 million for Westminster, with notable capital achievements including the completion of Florence J. Gillmor Hall
- Raised $9.2 million for the L.S. Skaggs Integrated Wellness Center
- Navigated the university through the COVID-19 pandemic
- Led the strategic planning for and celebration of Westminster’s sesquicentennial year in 2025
- Hosted the Sesquicentennial Gala in June, raising $1.3 million for student scholarships
- 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
- Opened the Community Clinic and Training Center, providing free mental health care for the Salt Lake community while providing valuable supervised clinical training hours for Master of Science in Clinical Mental Health Counseling students
Contact
If you have questions about the presidential transition, please email the search committee at presidentsearch@westminsteru.edu.