Westminster College trustees yesterday hired an Ohio college administrator as the school's next president.

Rick Dorman will take office July 1 at Westminster, a private liberal arts college of about 1,600 students in New Wilmington, Lawrence County.

Dr. Dorman, 54, succeeds R. Thomas Williamson, who is retiring after 11 years as Westminster's president.

Dr. Dorman now is a vice president of Otterbein College in suburban Columbus, Ohio. He oversaw a $35 million fund-raising campaign at Otterbein. He also has completed a number of renovation and capital projects since joining the college's administrative team in 1996, Westminster trustees said.

He said he will remain at Otterbein through the spring quarter, which ends in June.

Dr. Dorman grew up in Mendham, N.J., but has numerous ties to Pennsylvania. He received a bachelor's degree in music education in 1975 from Susquehanna University in Selinsgrove, Snyder County. He later studied at Penn State University, where he received a master's degree in counseling in 1980 and a doctorate in higher education administration in 1990.

He said in a telephone interview that he was drawn to Westminster for a variety of reasons, including the quality of its staff and its size.

"I feel the best undergraduate experience can be obtained at small, residential colleges," he said.

Dr. Dorman will be the 14th president of Westminster, which was founded in 1852.