Westminster University (Utah)

Last updated

Westminster University
Westminster College Converse Hall.jpg
Converse Hall
Former names
Salt Lake Collegiate Institute (1875–1897)
Sheldon Jackson College (1897–1902)
Westminster College (1902–2023)
MottoDiscendo Vita Abundantior
Motto in English
Through Learning, a More Abundant Life
Type Private university
Established1875;149 years ago (1875)
Endowment $79.0 million (2020) [1]
President Bethami Dobkin [2]
Academic staff
253 [3]
Students1,280 (fall 2022) [4]
Undergraduates 961 (fall 2022)
Postgraduates 319 (fall 2022)
Location
Salt Lake City
,
Utah
,
United States

40°43′54″N111°51′18″W / 40.7318°N 111.8550°W / 40.7318; -111.8550
CampusUrban
Colors   
Purple & Copper
Nickname Griffins
Sporting affiliations
 NCAA Division II – RMAC
Website westminsteru.edu

Westminster University is a private university in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. It was founded in 1875 and comprises four schools.

Contents

History

Westminster University was founded in 1875 as the Salt Lake Collegiate Institute, a preparatory school. Westminster first offered college classes in 1897 as Sheldon Jackson College. Named in honor of its primary benefactor and a Presbyterian minister, Sheldon Jackson, the college operated for many years on the Collegiate Institute campus in downtown Salt Lake City under the supervision of the First Presbyterian Church of Salt Lake City.

The college changed its name to Westminster College in 1902 to better reflect a more general Protestant education. The name is derived from the Westminster Confession of Faith, a Presbyterian confession of faith, which was named for the district of London where it was devised. The University of Westminster in London is a separate higher education institution in the United Kingdom and is not affiliated with Westminster College.

High school level classes ceased to be offered in 1945, and Westminster became the first accredited two-year junior college in the intermountain area. In 1935, Westminster modified its curriculum to qualify as a four-year junior college and in 1949 became a four-year liberal arts university offering baccalaureate degrees in the arts and sciences.

On September 19, 2022, President Bethami Dobkin announced that starting Fall semester 2023, Westminster College would be known as Westminster University to reflect the comprehensive institutional offerings of the school. [5]

Students from all religions are welcome, as Westminster severed its official ties to the Presbyterian church in 1974. In 2019 the college replaced its traditional crest emblem, a shield emblazoned with the term Pro Christo et Libertate ("For Christ and Liberty"), for a new seal bearing the motto Discendo Vita Abundantior ("Life Made More Abundant by Learning"). [6]

Campus

Originally located in downtown Salt Lake City, the college moved to its present campus on 27 acres (10.93 ha; 0.04 sq mi) in the Sugar House neighborhood of the city in 1911 where it is still located today. [7] Emigration Creek runs through the campus. This land was donated by Civil War Veteran Colonel William M. Ferry Jr. [8]

On campus are two gyms each equipped with a basketball court, weight room, and studio.

The larger of the buildings, the Eccles Health Wellness and Athletics Center (HWAC), also has an indoor pool, three story rock climbing wall, and racket ball court.

As Westminster University is located on 27 acres in the heart of Salt Lake City, administration has had to be careful and smart about the growing student population. The sixteenth president of Westminster College, Michael S. Bassis, saw a need for growing into and connecting with the Sugar House community. During his presidency he acquired Garfield School to the east, with plans on converting it into a center for the arts. However, it was sold to the Elizabeth Academy, a private Montessori school in February 2017.

Bassis also struck a deal to have Westminster on the Draw built on 1300 East, directly across the street from Sugar House Park. This seven-floor space has many uses. The bottom level is used as academic and event space, the second floor (street level) is used as business space, and the remaining floors are used as housing for upper-classmen and graduate students.

Administration

Westminster University has had nineteen presidents since its founding; the current president, Bethami Dobkin, was appointed in July 2018. [9] It has an endowment of $79 million as of June 30, 2020. [10] The Board of Trustees added Amy C. Wadsworth, the founding CAO[ further explanation needed ] of Salt Lake Arts Academy, after her retirement in June 2019, known for her historical novel reviewed by American western historian Will Bagley. [11] [12]

Academics

Westminster University comprises four schools: the School of Arts and Sciences, the Bill and Vieve Gore School of Business, the School of Education, and the School of Nursing and Health Sciences. It operates on a fall and spring semester system with a mini term in May and eight- and twelve-week summer terms.

Westminster offers 38 undergraduate majors conferring BS, BBA, BA, and BFA degrees, which do not include its customized majors and pre-med, pre-law, and pre-dental programs. In addition to a number of post-baccalaureate certificate programs in various fields, Westminster also offers 13 graduate degrees: Master of Business Administration (MBA), Project-Based Master of Business Administration (MBA), Master of Business Administration in Technology Commercialization (MBATC), Master of Accountancy (MAcc), Master of Arts in Community Leadership (MACL), Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT), Master of Education (MEd), Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP), Doctor of Nursing Practice - Nurse Anesthesia (DNAP), Master of Public Health (MPH), Master of Science in Mental Health Counseling (MSMHC), Master of Science in Nursing: Family Nurse Practitioner (MSN), and Master of Strategic Communication (MSC). [13]

Westminster University recently launched a new program within the Gore School of Business focusing on training students to be entrepreneurs. The Center for New Enterprise will offer graduate and undergraduate degrees as well as community education programs in entrepreneurship.

The university is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities. Programs throughout the university are accredited as well. [14]

Recognition

U.S. News & World Report ranked Westminster in its 2022 "Best College" guide in the following lists: "Best Regional Universities" (No. 18); "Best Value Schools" (No. 19); "Best College for Veterans" (No. 9); and "Best Undergraduate Teaching" (No. 15). [15]

Student life

The university has over 70 campus clubs and organizations. The Associated Students of Westminster is the student association on campus. The school newspaper is a bi-weekly called "The Forum". There is also a nationally recognized literary journal known as Ellipsis. The Estonian, Westminster's student yearbook, was last published in 1987. The university publishes an alumni magazine, The Westminster Review, on a bi-annual schedule. [16]

Athletics

The Westminster athletic teams are called the Griffins. The university is a member of the NCAA Division II ranks, primarily competing in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) for most of its sports since the 2015–16 academic year (which they were a member on a previous stint from 1967–68 to 1978–79 before suspending its athletics program); while its men's and women's alpine skiing teams compete in the Rocky Mountain Intercollegiate Ski Association (RMISA) affiliated with the NCAA. The Griffins previously competed in the Frontier Conference of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) from 1998–99 to 2014–15.

Westminster competes in 15 intercollegiate varsity sports: Men's sports include alpine ski, basketball, cross country, golf, lacrosse, soccer and track & field; while women's sports include alpine ski, basketball, cross country, golf, lacrosse, soccer, track & field and volleyball. Current non-NCAA sports include cheerleading, cycling, dance, men's soccer (club) and snowboard. [17]

Olympians

More than 50 Olympians have pursued their educational aspirations at Westminster, earning degrees along with 10 medals. The Griffins have competed in at least four Winter Olympic Games. Most of them as part of a 2005–2018 partnership between the college and U.S. Ski and Snowboard. Twenty-three Westminster students made up 10% of Team USA in Sochi and 18 students competed in the 2018 Pyeongchang games. In the 2022 Winter Olympics, 8 Olympians from Westminster will represent four different countries in Beijing: the U.S., Philippines, Ireland and Slovenia. One alum will compete in qualifying races for the 2022 USA Paralympic alpine skiing team. [18]

History

The intercollegiate athletic teams were formerly called the Parsons, [19] and Westminster was a member of the RMAC (in the NAIA), joining the conference in the summer of 1967 for football, basketball, and other team sports. A financial crisis at the school in 1979 caused it to discontinue intercollegiate athletics. Beginning in the 1990s, Westminster gradually began to restore its intercollegiate athletic program in the NAIA as the Griffins; it joined NCAA Division II in 2015 and returned to the RMAC, gaining full member status in 2018.

Notable alumni

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference</span> Collegiate athletic conference in the western United States

The Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC), commonly known as the Rocky Mountain Conference (RMC) from approximately 1910 through the late 1960s, is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level, which operates in the western United States. Most member schools are in Colorado, with additional members in Nebraska, New Mexico, South Dakota, and Utah.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Park City, Utah</span> City in Utah, United States

Park City is a city in Utah, United States. The vast majority is in Summit County with some portions extending into Wasatch County. It is considered to be part of the Wasatch Back. The city is 32 miles (51 km) southeast of downtown Salt Lake City and 20 miles (32 km) from Salt Lake City's east edge of Sugar House along Interstate 80. The population was 8,396 at the 2020 census. On average, the tourist population greatly exceeds the number of permanent residents.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rocky Mountain College</span> Private college in Billings, Montana, US

Rocky Mountain College is a private college in Billings, Montana, United States. It offers 50 liberal arts and professional majors in 24 undergraduate disciplines. As of 2013, the college had 1,069 enrolled students. RMC is affiliated with the United Methodist Church, the Presbyterian Church (USA), and the United Church of Christ.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Torah Bright</span> Australian professional snowboarder

Torah Jane Bright is an Australian former professional snowboarder. She is Australia's most successful Winter Olympian, former Olympic gold and silver medalist, two time X Games gold medalist, three time US Open winner, two time Global Open Champion, three time World Superpipe Champion, former TTR World Champion and recipient of the Best Female Action Sports Athlete at the ESPY awards. In 2014 Bright became the first Olympic athlete to qualify for all three snowboarding disciplines; halfpipe, slopestyle and boarder-cross.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Colorado Buffaloes</span> Intercollegiate sports teams of University of Colorado

The Colorado Buffaloes are the athletic teams that represent the University of Colorado Boulder. The university sponsors 16 varsity sports teams. Both the men's and women's teams are called the Buffaloes or, rarely, the Golden Buffaloes. "Lady Buffs" referred to the women's teams beginning in the 1970s, but was officially dropped in 1993. The nickname was selected by the campus newspaper in a contest with a $5 prize in 1934 won by Andrew Dickson of Boulder.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kikkan Randall</span> American cross-country skier

Kikkan Randall is an American Olympic champion cross-country skier. She has won 17 U.S. National titles, made 29 podiums on the World Cup, made five trips to the Winter Olympic Games and had the highest finish by an individual American woman at the World Championships, second in the Sprint in Liberec in 2009. She was the first American female cross-country skier to take a top ten finish in World Cup competition, to win a World Cup race and to win a World Cup discipline title. She won the silver medal in the individual sprint at the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships 2009 in Liberec, becoming the first American woman to win a medal in cross country skiing at the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships, and in 2013 teamed up with Jessie Diggins to win the first ever American FIS Nordic World Ski Championships gold medal in the team sprint. She and Diggins won the United States' first ever cross-country skiing gold medal at the Winter Olympics in women's team sprint at Pyeongchang in 2018.

Rowland Hall is an independent private school of roughly 1000 students from preschool to high school on two campuses in Salt Lake City, Utah. Driven by their vision of developing people the world needs, they believe in a transformational education that gives students agency and purpose, connects them to their global community, and empowers them to make the world a better place for all. Founded in 1867, Rowland Hall is the oldest school in Utah.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jean Saubert</span> American alpine skier

Jean Marlene Saubert was an alpine ski racer from the United States. She won two medals in the 1964 Winter Olympics at Innsbruck, Austria. After graduating from college, Saubert became an educator.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shannon Bahrke</span> American freestyle skier

Shannon Bahrke is an American Olympic freestyle skier and entrepreneur. Bahrke was the silver medalist in Moguls at the 2002 Winter Olympics held in Salt Lake City and went on to become the 2003 World Cup Champion. She also won the bronze medal at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. With her bronze medal in 2010, she became the first US women's freestyle skier to win multiple Olympic medals. Bahrke was also the 2009 US National Champion in dual moguls. She has reached the podium twice at the FIS Freestyle World Ski Championships, winning bronze in 2003 and silver in 2007, both in dual moguls.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chiharu Igaya</span> Japanese alpine skier (born 1931)

Chiharu Igaya, is a former Olympic alpine ski racer and silver medalist from Japan. He competed in three Winter Olympics.

Faye Gulini is a professional American snowboarder born in Salt Lake City, Utah. She competes for the US Snowboarding Team in the disciplines of snowboard cross, slopestyle, and halfpipe. She is a four-time Olympian.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Emily Cook (skier)</span> American freestyle skier

Emily Cook is an American freestyle skier who has competed since 1995. Her first World Cup victory was in an aerials event in Russia in 2008. She has eight career World Cup podiums, over thirty World Cup top tens, and five National Championships wins.

The Stratton Mountain School is a college preparatory high school located at Stratton Mountain in Stratton, Vermont. The school was founded in 1972 by Warren Hellman and Donald Tarinelli. The current headmaster is Carson Thurber.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Westminster Griffins</span> Athletic teams representing Westminster University

The Westminster Griffins are the athletic teams that represent Westminster University, located in Salt Lake City, Utah, in intercollegiate sports as a member of the NCAA Division II ranks, primarily competing in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) for most of its sports since the 2015–16 academic year ; while its men's and women's alpine skiing teams compete in the Rocky Mountain Intercollegiate Ski Association (RMISA) affiliated with the NCAA. The Griffins previously competed in the Frontier Conference of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) from 1998–99 to 2014–15.

Arielle Townsend Gold is an American Olympic medalist snowboarder.

Jared Goldberg is an American World Cup alpine ski racer, a member of the U.S. Ski Team, and resident of Holladay, Utah.

Kaitlyn Brooke Farrington is an American former professional snowboarder and amateur freestyle snowmobiler who grew up on a cattle ranch near Bellevue, Idaho, and now lives in Whitefish, Montana. She won the gold medal in the women's half-pipe competition at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia. Prior to her Olympic debut, she competed in the 2010 European Winter X Games and won the gold medal. On December 8, 2022, Farrington was announced as a backup crew member of the dearMoon project, a now-canceled lunar spaceflight mission.

John Morton is an Olympic skier and writer from the United States. He was born in Keene, New Hampshire. Morton has participated as an athlete, coach, and team leader in seven Olympic Games for the United States in the biathlon event.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sierra Nevada University</span> Defunct University near Lake Tahoe in Nevada, U.S.

Sierra Nevada University (SNU) was a private university in Incline Village, Nevada, in the Sierras. In 2022, it was announced that the school would no longer be independent and would be merged into the University of Nevada, Reno system.

References

  1. ↑ As of June 30, 2020. U.S. and Canadian Institutions Listed by Fiscal Year 2020 Endowment Market Value and Change in Endowment Market Value from FY19 to FY20 (Report). National Association of College and University Business Officers and TIAA. February 19, 2021. Retrieved February 21, 2021.
  2. ↑ "404 Not Found".{{cite web}}: Cite uses generic title (help)
  3. ↑ "Westminster College: Westminster Fact Sheet". Archived from the original on May 27, 2010. Retrieved December 18, 2008.
  4. ↑ "Westminster College" . Retrieved August 4, 2023.
  5. ↑ Houck, Michael (September 19, 2022). "Westminster College will be Westminster University in 2023". KSL-TV. Retrieved February 10, 2023.
  6. ↑ Westminster College. "History". Retrieved January 31, 2022.
  7. ↑ About Us | Westminster College | Salt Lake City, Utah
  8. ↑ "The Woman's Board | Westminster College | Salt Lake City". westminstercollege.edu. Retrieved March 15, 2021.
  9. ↑ Trojan, William (June 21, 2015). "Westminster Announces New President and Board of Trustees Members". UtahPulse.com. Archived from the original on October 16, 2018. Retrieved June 22, 2015.
  10. ↑ U.S. and Canadian Institutions Listed by Fiscal Year 2020 Endowment Market Value and Change in Endowment Market Value from FY19 to FY20 (Report). National Association of College and University Business Officers and TIAA. February 19, 2021. Retrieved February 21, 2021.
  11. ↑ Salt Lake Arts Academy (APR 2023). SLArts' History - Founding Chief Administrative Officer. SLArts Wikipedia URL still valid April 26, 2023: Salt Lake Arts Academy.
  12. ↑ Bagley, William Grant (2020). Book review: Resolution (v2.0) by Amy C. Wadsworth. See Wikipedia: Will Bagley.
  13. ↑ Westminster College Academics. "". Retrieved January 31, 2022.
  14. ↑ Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (NWCCU). "". Retrieved January 31, 2022.
  15. ↑ National Universities Rankings. U.S. News & World Report. "". Retrieved January 31, 2022.
  16. ↑ "Westminster Review". westminstercollege.edu.
  17. ↑ "Westminster Athletics". westminstergriffins.com/. Westminster Griffins Athletics. Retrieved April 13, 2020.
  18. ↑ "Eight Olympians from Westminster to Represent Four Countries in Winter Games." (January 25, 2022). Retrieved January 31, 2022.
  19. ↑ "Parsons home – at last". Deseret News. October 28, 1968. p. C1.
  20. ↑ Engar, Ann (1994), "Adams, Maude", Utah History Encyclopedia, University of Utah Press, ISBN   9780874804256, archived from the original on June 20, 2023, retrieved March 25, 2024
  21. ↑ Quinn, D. Michael (1996). Same-Sex Dynamics among Nineteenth-Century Americans. University of Illinois Press. p. 77. ISBN   9780252069581.
  22. ↑ "Maddie Bowman". United States Olympic Committee. Archived from the original on January 21, 2014. Retrieved April 23, 2014.
  23. ↑ Monson, Gordon (April 18, 2012). "Monson: Utah no-name comes out of nowhere to sign with Miami Dolphins". Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved June 19, 2016.
  24. ↑ Hanzus, Dan (April 19, 2012). "Former accountant chases NFL dreams with Dolphins". NFL.com . Retrieved April 23, 2014.
  25. ↑ Minnesota Legislators Past & Present Janet H. Clark
  26. ↑ Kragthorpe, Kurt (February 19, 2014). "Olympics: Utah's Westminster College influential in Sochi". Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved June 19, 2016.
  27. ↑ "Otto Abels Harbach". Utah.gov: History to Go. Utah Division of State History. March 31, 1995. Retrieved September 9, 2021.
  28. ↑ "David Litvack". Good4Utah.com. Archived from the original on April 23, 2014. Retrieved April 23, 2014.
  29. ↑ "Michael Stockton Westminster Griffins bio" . Retrieved October 5, 2017.
  30. ↑ Jolley, Craig (February 8, 2005). "Meet Ladd McIntosh". All About Jazz.
  31. ↑ Matray, Margaret (May 27, 2012). "Spencer West: Redefining possible". Casper Star-Tribune Online. Retrieved February 28, 2021.
  32. ↑ "Die Preisträger". Meyenburg-Stiftung (in German). April 30, 2005. Retrieved June 19, 2016.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.