Presidents Emeriti of Westminster College
Dr. Michael S. Bassis | 2002 - 2012 | Westminster's 16th President
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Michael S. Bassis was the sixteenth president of Westminster College. An authority on educational change and an active participant in the national conversation on the future of higher education, Dr. Bassis has had a wide range of experiences as a teacher, scholar, and administrator over his 30-year career in higher education. Upon his appointment at Westminster in July 2002, Dr. Bassis embarked on a comprehensive strategic planning process which resulted in the development of a new, innovative, and ambitious 10 year strategic plan for the college.
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Dr. Peggy A. Stock | 1995 - 2002 | Westminster's 15th President
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As the college had finally overcome some bad financial times in 1995, Peggy saw the college as a "wonderful jewel that needed polishing." The board soon became convinced that her particular skills set fit the college's need they saw a "can do" president. The vote was unanimous. Peggy was on her way to becoming the fifteenth president of Westminster College and the first female college president in the state of Utah. Her aspiration from the start was for Westminster to be the first choice for the students and the best choice for the students.
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Dr. Charles H. Dick | 1985 - 1995 | Westminster's 14th President
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Dr. Dick was an educator, administrator, and fundraiser. He had been president of Centenary College in New Jersey and vice president at Cornell University Medical Center. He graduated from the University of Kansas, earned a Masters from California State University and PhD in marketing and management from Northwestern. Also an avid flutist, jogger and dog-lover, Charles Dick and his wife Barbara won many friends for the college.
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James E. Petersen | 1982 - 1985 | Westminster's 13th President
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James E. ("Pete") Petersen, Kennecott Copper Company's industrial relations manager served the college twice as president, once for 8 months in 1979 and again from 1982 to 1985. A businessman with no college degree, he saw the college through the brink of bankruptcy and a reorganization that put the college on the road to its current success. The Petersen House, a building off campus, is currently used for student housing.
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C. David Cornell | 1979 - 1982 | Westminster's 12th President
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C. David Cornell was college president from 1979 to January 1982. He had previously served as vice president of colleges in New York, Ohio and North Carolina. The Cornell Duplex, named in his honor, is currently used for student housing. |
Dr. Helmut Hofmann | 1976 - 1979 | Westminster's 11th President
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Helmut P. Hofmann was college president from 1976 to January of 1979. He had a PhD from Heidelberg University and had been the Academic vice president at Weber State in Ogden, Utah and Westminster before being chosen as president in 1976. Notably, the award-winning Nunemaker Place was built during his term. The Hofmann House, named in his honor, is currently used for student housing. |
Manford A. Shaw | 1968 - 1976 | Westminster's 10th President
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President Shaw was a Westminster graduate and earned degrees from Yale and the University of Utah. He was also a college trustee. His term saw a much needed Union Building and Malouf Hall added to campus. The student union was then named in his honor, and houses a cafeteria, bookstore, career resource center, and much more. For more information on the Shaw center, click here. |
W. Fred Arbogast | 1963 - 1968 | Westminster's 9th President
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W. Fred Arbogast was college president from 1963 to 1968. Arbogast was a Westminster alumnus and the former principal of East High and Highland High School. He held graduate degrees from the University of Denver and University of Utah. His term included the addition of the first free-standing library on campus, Nightingale Hall. He died in July, 1984. Now the Arbogast house, named in his honor, is used for student housing |
Dr. Frank E. Duddy, Jr. | 1956 - 1963 | Westminster's 8th President
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Frank E. Duddy was college president from 1956 to 1963. Dr. Duddy was the school's first nonministerial president. He earned a PhD from Harvard and had taught 10 years at the U.S. Naval Academy. During his term, such key additions as Carleson and Hogle Halls were added to the College. The Duddy Duplex, named in his honor, is currently used for student housing. |
J. Richard Palmer | 1953 - 1956 | Westminster's 7th President
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Biography Coming Soon |
Burton C. J. Wheatlake | 1952 - 1953 | Westminster's 6th President
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Burton Wheatlake and his sisters, Lois and Joy, practically grew up on the Westminster College campus. Their father, B. C. J. Wheatlake, was on the Westminster Board of Trustees from 1927 until his death in 1964. He was interim president of the college in 1952-53. |
Dr. Robert Denom Steele | 1939 - 1952 | Westminster's 5th President
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Robert D. Steele was the fifth president of Westminster College, and he is most famous for transforming the college into a four-year institution. |
Herbert Ware Reherd | 1913 - 1939 | Westminster's 4th President
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Herbert W. Reherd was the college's 4th president, but first residential president. He served Westminster for over 25 years. During his term, the "Cushman Cottage" was built on the east side of 13th East as the president's house along with such campus improvements as the F.R. Payne Gymnasium and Foster Hall. The Reherd house, named in his honor, is currently used for student housing. |
Robert M. Stevenson | 1906 - 1912 | Westminster's 3rd President
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Reverend Robert M. Stevenson was Westminster's president for six years, though absentee doing fund-raising much of the time. He graduated from Wabash College and Princeton Theological Seminary, was a Presbyterian minister and became the vice president of Bellevue College near Omaha, Nebraska before coming to Westminster. The Stevenson House, named in his honor, is currently used for student housing. |
George Bailey | 1902 - 1906 | Westminster's 2nd President
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Biography Coming Soon |
John S. Eaton | 1895 - 1902 | Westminster's 1st President
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During this time, Westminster was still under the name of Sheldon Jackson College. |
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