Few, if any, of the 2,300 full- and part-time students at Westminster College today know of the financial hard times the institution went through or realize how the cost of tuition has soared there through the years.

But older alumni of the school that celebrated its 125th anniversary Wednesday recall the tight times Westminster has survived."I can remember as a student some faculty members saying they would not take their monthly pay so that younger faculty could get paid," said Bruce Bemis, an alumnus and now a retiring faculty member. "I remember hearing stories about one college board member who was known to cover the faculty payroll periodically. This was back in the early 1950s when I was a student."

The celebration at the college, which has grown from a Presbyterian mission school to the only private, nonprofit and nondenominational educational institution in Utah, included the cutting of a huge birthday cake at noon on the school plaza. Bells chimed in the tower of historic Converse Hall, along with singing by the Westminster Women's Choir and a speech by Westminster President Peggy Stock.

Last Saturday the school held a Founder's Day celebration attended by 1,000 people, including 300 to 400 alumni, at the Salt Lake Hilton Hotel.

Bemis, a 1958 Westminster graduate who later returned for a 38-year teaching career in math and computer science at the college, said most people believe the college struggled financially in the late 1970s and early 1980s. But it was his days as a student that the young college was "in just a survival mode. I think we are in the golden age right now at the college," said Bemis.

Obviously, the financial picture and other things have changed dramatically at Westminster, which still relies heavily on funds from tuition and donations from individuals, corporations and foundations. The college is overseen by a 31-member board of trustees and operates on a $27 million yearly budget. The institution has 111 full-time faculty members and about 100 associate instructors.

When Bemis was a student at the school, tuition was $150 per semester for 18 hours or less. Currently, tuition runs $6,228 per semester for 12 to 16 hours of credit; 80 percent of the students now receive some form of financial aid, Stock said. In 1954, room and board cost $250 a semester for a resident student. For double occupancy quarters, room and board in a residence hall now now cost $1,125 per student per semester.

Steve Crane, a 1970 Westminster graduate and architect for several campus building projects, ran across an interesting piece of financial information about Westminster. During the remodeling and restoration work "we found a one-cent Mr. Goodbar (candy bar), which would now sell for about $1.50. We also found a receipt for a tuition payment at Westminster. It was for about $20 for a semester in the late teens or early 1920s," Crane said.

The architect also found an ad in a Philadelphia newspaper that promoted donations to Westminster. The newspaper was published in about the early to mid-1920s. The ad said, "Stop the Mormon Influence. Donate to Westminster College."

A historical account of the founding of Westminster by R. Douglas Brackenridge and published in 1998 notes that "in addition to a commitment to a traditional program of liberal arts education, Westminster's Presbyterian founders endorsed an evangelistic mission to convert and integrate Mormons into mainstream American culture."

At one time, weekly attendance was required at a chapel service. Bible or religion classes were also required.

Stock, who is completing her fifth year as Westminster's president, says she has never worked at a place where she has seen the "kind of feeling of commitment and loyalty from everyone who is associated with the college. It is really remarkable."

She said Westminster has a 97 percent approval rating from its students. The rating is based on the quality of students' educational experience and accessibility to faculty. The average class size is 17.

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Westminster offers 27 majors in undergraduate fields and has four graduate programs -- in business administration, education, science in nursing and professional communications.

The college, which plans to cap its enrollment at 2,500 students within the next five to eight years, has plans for a number of building and other projects. They include construction of another residence hall, which will allow the number of students in residence to increase from 360 to 500, and a complete renovation next summer of the Shaw Campus Center.

Stock said Westminster is raising funds for construction of an addition to the Gore School of Business. Also, it will construct an addition to the Jewett Center for the Fine and Performing Arts, and the college will build a new health, wellness and athletic center. And Westminster is in the planning stage for a new science center.

"We are the best bargain in private higher education in the country. We are about $1,500 below our peers in tuition costs. We are trying to contain costs," Stock said. "But quality is extremely important to us. If we can't do it well, we don't do it."

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