150 years old: Salt Lake City’s Westminster University celebrates its sesquicentennial

Any commemoration of Westminster University’s 150th anniversary should begin with a historical question:

How did a private university nestled in Salt Lake City’s Sugar House neighborhood — 4,800 miles from Westminster, England — end up with its unusual and very specific name?

The answer, local history buffs likely know, stretches back to the school’s Protestant roots. In 1902, the school was renamed “Westminster” as a nod to England’s Westminster Confession of Faith.

But the origins of the school’s unusual name only adds to Westminster University’s rich Utah history as students, faculty, staff, alums and Griffins sports fans celebrate its sesquicentennial this year.

“It’s a great year, and I think it speaks to our enduring value and resilience,” Westminster President Beth Dobkin told the Deseret News.

“We’ve been through a lot — and we’re capable of going through a lot more. And it’s going to be a fantastic next 150 years.”

Value via inclusivity

Founded by the First Presbyterian Church in 1875 as the Salt Lake Collegiate Institute with an enrollment of 27 students, the school was originally a preparatory school. Later, it began offering college courses at what was then known then as Sheldon Jackson College, named for the school’s founder, according to the university.

A guiding Sheldon Jackson College principle was to enroll students “without distinction of race, sex or religious belief.”

That institutional commitment to welcoming students and faculty of all backgrounds, said Dobkin, remains fundamental at Westminster University.

“Part of our value comes from our inclusivity,” she said. “We were one of the first institutions to pay women as teachers. That kind of thing is so embedded in the fabric of Westminster. It’s part of what contributes greatly to our strength.”

Originally located in downtown Salt Lake City, the school moved to its current Sugar House campus location in 1911 — nine years after adopting the name Westminster College.

The fledgling school made regional higher education history when Westminster College became the first accredited two-year junior college in the Intermountain West region, according to the school. By 1935, it was a four-year junior college and, in 1949, began offering bachelor degrees in several majors.

The school ended its denominational relationship with the Presbyterian Church in 1974.

Then in 2023, the school became Westminster University, reflecting its wide range of graduate and professional degree offerings.

Utahns living along the Wasatch Front have a variety of higher education choices, from the state’s public flagship school — the University of Utah — to several other public, private, for-profit and religious schools.

But Westminster continues to enjoy its own unique campus profile.

With an enrollment of just over 1,100 student and a 8:1 student-to-faculty ratio, the school remains an ideal spot to enjoy a full college experience without getting lost in a massive campus filled with tens of thousands of students. Almost every Westminster student attends full-time.

A fun, local side note: More than 50 Olympians have studied at Westminster University. At the most recent Winter Games in Beijing, eight athletes with ties to the Salt Lake City school competed in China.

Mutualism: Westminster and Sugar House

Westminster University’s 150-year-old legacy of providing students with a broad education within the personable confines of a small school remains strong in 2025, said Dobkin.

“Students have long chose Westminster as a distinctive place where they can find not just a high-quality education, but one where they can apply what they’re learning and be in close contact with faculty and other support systems,” the president added.

Meanwhile, an institution of higher learning does not function for 150 years without developing a symbiotic relationship with its host community. Study old black-and-white photos and it’s evident that Sugar House has physically grown up around Westminster.

“But along with that, there’s a long history of service and connection to workplaces and industries,” said Dobkin.

The service components defining, say, Westminster’s Center for Civic Engagement, along with internships and local corporate partnerships, extends the student life cycle.

“Our students become embedded in the surrounding communities and workplaces as part of their education — and then nearly 90% of them stay and work in the surrounding areas once they graduate,” noted Dobkin.

“That kind of interplay between nonprofit and for-profit communities has been part of Westminster’s history and will continue as its legacy.”

While Utah offers a vast choice of higher education institutions, “some students really need a smaller environment to thrive, and they need that ability to apply what they’re learning immediately,” said Dobkin.

The university’s 19th president points to Westminster’s nursing program as an example of the school’s “ethos of inclusion and access” that make it a solid fit for many. “It’s the opportunities to get deep-learning with other students and with their faculty that they can use right away.”

Socially, Westminster’s small size also allows students to engage and lead.

“If you have a club you want to start, or a business you want to launch, you can actually build it yourself here. That’s something that’s hard to find,” said Dobkin.

The president remembers joining several faculty members for lunch not long after she was appointed Westminster’s president in 2018. A fellow educator acknowledged that it’s possible to get a solid education at an any of the local colleges and universities.

“But at Westminster,” the faculty member added, “it inescapable.”

That observation, said Dobkin, “speaks to how faculty and staff care for students here.”

150 years of history; now looking ahead

Like all higher learning institutions, Westminster faces challenges in the coming years and decades. The school must adapt to and incorporate evolving technologies such as AI — along with the ever-changing needs of their students and the industries awaiting graduates.

Dobkin believes Westminster University is positioned to meet those challenges — all while remaining committed to lessons that retain humanity, empathy and connection.

She repeats what she frequently told students when she was teaching in the college classroom: “It’s not my job to tell you how to behave. It’s my job to have you think about how your behavior matches your values — because that’s where you start getting wisdom.”

A school such as Westminster University, she added, doubles as a response to some who say higher education is no longer worth the time or the money.

Financially, said Dobkin, the cost of education at private institutions has shifted downward over the past few decades. Westminster offers generous financial aid opportunities for students — particularly Utah residents from low-income families. Plus the school boasts a high four-year-graduation rate.

“For the last couple years, 97% or 98% of our students say that their degree added value to their professional pursuits. They are saying it was worth it.”

But beyond the financial benefits, Dobkin believes Westminster continues to be place where one’s beliefs and opinions are challenged. That environment offers a less tangible — yet equally critical — return on investment.

“Colleges and universities (remain) one of the best places to create responsibility, agency, maturity and the ability to build connections with people you wouldn’t otherwise encounter.

“That’s a building block to a democratic society.”

Westminster University will host a series of sesquicentennial events throughout the year.

Visit Westminsteru.edu for details.