Westminster named one of top 150 colleges to work for

In a time when good work is hard to find, Westminster College seems to be keeping its employees happy.

A random selection of 400-600 administrators, faculty and staff earned the private liberal arts school top awards in the Chronicle of Higher Education's "Great Colleges to Work For" program.

Academe's self-proclaimed No. 1 news source, based in Washington, D.C., included Westminster in its list of the top 150 colleges to work for in 2009.

The program, in its second year, recognizes institutions for best practices and policies in 26 categories for four-year colleges and in 15 categories for community colleges, based on enrollment numbers.

Westminster was the only school in Utah to make the list. Among the 247 schools surveyed nationally, they landed in the top 10 in nine categories: facilities and security, overall satisfaction with benefits, compensation and benefits, health insurance, tuition reimbursement, 403(b) and 401(k), disability insurance, life insurance and post-retirement benefits.

"In addition to attracting talented students, a great college needs to have a faculty and staff eager to help them learn," said Westminster President Michael Bassis. "When we invest in our people, we are really ensuring that our students will be able to work with some of the most talented and motivated educators in the country."

The results for the Chronicle's survey are based on the responses of 41,000 administrators, faculty and staff at the various surveyed institutions. Participating schools agree to go through a free, two-part assessment process involving the random survey and an institutional audit of college demographics and workplace policies and practices.

The primary factor in deciding whether a college or university receives recognition, is feedback collected from faculty and staff members.

Westminster employs 132 full-time faculty and 166 part-time faculty, in addition to various administrators.

"Winning these types of awards gives us the opportunity to highlight some of our great programs and benefits to the entire higher education community," said Darin Jones, director of Westminster's human resources. Jones has worked at the college more than five years.

"I truly believe this is a great place to work," he said.

e-mail: wleonard@desnews.com