Bethami Dobkin, president of Westminster University in Utah, has announced she will retire at the end of the 2025-2026 academic year. According to the university, she is the longest-tenured university president in the state of Utah.
Following three decades of teaching and administrative work in higher education, Dr. Dobkin was appointed the nineteenth president of Westminster College in 2018. Throughout her tenure, she has raised over $70 million in fundraising campaigns; created new opportunities for first-generation students; promoted diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives; developed new study abroad programs; and enhanced the college’s mental health services. In 2023, she led Westminster College’s transition to becoming Westminster University, reflecting the institution’s expanded graduate and professional degree offerings, including two doctoral programs in the School of Nursing and Health Sciences.
“It has been an immense privilege to serve as Westminster University’s nineteenth president,” said Dr. 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.”
Before assuming her current role, Dr. Dobkin spent 10 years as provost and vice president for academic affairs at Saint Mary’s College of California. Earlier, she was a faculty member in communication studies at the University of San Diego for 18 years, ultimately serving as a university professor and associate provost.
Dr. Dobkin received her bachelor’s degree in speech communication from California State Polytechnic University, Humboldt. She holds a master’s degree and a Ph.D. in rhetoric and social order from the University of Massachusetts Amherst.