List of longest serving higher education presidents in the United States

Eliphalet Nott, longest serving college president in US history

The longest serving president of a United States institution of higher education is Eliphalet Nott, who served at Union College in Schenectady, New York, for 62 years (1805–66). The longest living college or university president is Dr. Jack Evans Sr., who continues at Southwestern Christian College of Terrell, Texas, as president after 49 years of service.

Criteria

According to a 2007 report from the American Council on Education, only about 5% of all in-office college presidents had served longer than 20 years.^[1] The table below considers candidates who can be demonstrated to have served for 25 years or longer unless another distinguishing factor warrants inclusion. Records for the longest serving college or university presidents are usually kept by the respective institutions themselves.

List

Name	Term	College	Location	Notes[note 1]
Eliphalet Nott	61 years (1805–1866)	Union College	Schenectady, NY	Longest serving college president in U.S. history.
Paul F. Beacham	59 years (1919-1978)	Holmes Theological Seminary	Greenville, SC	Longest serving seminary president in U.S. history.
B. B. Dougherty	56 years (1899-1955)	Appalachian State University	Boone, NC
W. Wilbert Welch	56 years (1959-2015)	Cornerstone University	Grand Rapid, MI	Served as President until 1983, then Chancellor.
Francis H. Smith	50 years (1839-1889)	Virginia Military Institute	Lexington, VA	Longest serving military superintendent in U.S. history
James Blair	50 years (1693–1743)	College of William and Mary	Williamsburg, VA	The first and longest serving president of the college.[2]
Jack Evans, Sr	49 years (1967—present)	Southwestern Christian College	Terrell, TX	The longest serving college president still sitting. Served as President until 2016, then Chancellor.
Norman Francis	47 years (1968–2015)	Xavier University of Louisiana	New Orleans, LA	[3]
Richard I. Gouse	45 years (1971–present)[4]	New England Institute of Technology	East Greenwich, RI	Only 24 at the time of assuming his position.
J. Donald Monan	44 years (1972-present)	Boston College	Chestnut Hill, MA	Served as President until 1996, then Chancellor
Clarence W. Daugette	43 years (1899-1942)	Jacksonville State University	Jacksonville, AL	State of Alabama's longest serving university president.
Nicholas Murray Butler	43 years (1902-1945)	Columbia University	New York, NY	Columbia's longest serving president.
Joseph N. Hankin	43 years (1971–2014)[5]	Westchester Community College	Valhalla, NY	Longest serving community college president in the US.[6]
Luns C. Richardson	42 years (1974–present)	Morris College	Sumter, SC	Life Member and Golden Heritage Member of the NAACP
Robert H. Spence	42 years (1974–present)	Evangel University	Springfield, MO	Served until May 1, 2014 as President, and since then as Chancellor.
Leon Botstein	41 years (1975–present)	Bard College	Annandale-on-Hudson, NY
Ralph Waldo Emerson Jones	41 years (1936-1977)	Grambling State University	Grambling, LA
William Foster Peirce	41 years (1896–1937)	Kenyon College	Gambier, OH	Assumed the presidency at the age of 28.
W. Sam Monroe	40 years (1974-2014)	Lamar State College-Port Arthur	Port Arthur, TX
Charles William Eliot	40 years (1869–1909)	Harvard University	Cambridge, MA
Henry Nelson Snyder	40 years (1902-1942)	Wofford College	Spartanburg, SC
David L. Eubanks	38 years (1969–2007)	Johnson Bible College	Knoxville, TN
James Burrill Angell	38 years (1871–1909)	University of Michigan	Ann Arbor, MI	UM's longest serving president.
Philip Pumerantz	38 years (1977–2015)	Western University of Health Sciences	Pomona, CA	Founding president of the College of Osteopathic Medicine of the Pacific (1977), which became Western University of Health Sciences in 1996.
Pat Robertson	38 years (1978–present)	Regent University	Virginia Beach, VA
William R. Harvey	38 years (1978–present)[7]	Hampton University	Hampton, VA
Janet Eisner	37 years (1979–present)	Emmanuel College	Boston, MA	Longest serving female president still sitting.[8]
Dennis J. Murray	37 years (1979–2016)[9]	Marist College	Poughkeepsie, NY
Sister Denise Roche	37 years (1979–2016)	D'Youville College	Buffalo, NY
Mary Emma Woolley	37 years (1900-1937)	Mount Holyoke College	South Hadley, MA
Jerry Falwell	36 years (1971-2007)	Liberty University	Lynchburg, VA
John Wheelock	36 years (1779–1815)	Dartmouth College	Hanover, NH	Dartmouth's longest serving president.
Robert L. McLendon Jr.	36 years (1972-2008)	St. Johns River State College	Palatka, FL
Bevan Morris	36 years (1980-2016)[10]	Maharishi University of Management	Fairfield, IA
Cornelius P. Haggard	36 years (1939-1975)	Azusa Pacific University	Azusa, CA
Theodore Hesburgh	35 years (1952–1987)	University of Notre Dame	South Bend, IN
Charles P. Adams	35 years (1901-1936)	Grambling State University	Grambling, LA	Founding president of the Colored Industrial and Agricultural School in 1901, which became Grambling State University in 1974.
Willard M. Aldrich	35 years (1943-1978)	Multnomah University	Portland, OR
Nathan Lord	35 years (1828–1863)	Dartmouth College	Hanover, NH
E. George Evans	35 years (1884-1919)	Champlain College	Burlington, VT
A. Gordon Tittemore	35 years (1920-1955)	Champlain College	Burlington, VT
Sister Joel Read	35 years (1968–2003)	Alverno College	Milwaukee, WI
William Lowe Bryan	35 years (1902–1937)	Indiana University	Bloomington, IN
Marilyn Schlack	34 years (1982–present)	Kalamazoo Valley Community College	Kalamazoo, MI	Longest serving community college president still sitting
Ray Paul Authement, Sr.	34 years (1974-2008)	University of Louisiana at Lafayette	Lafayette, La
James M Rosser	34 years (1979–2013)[11]	California State University, Los Angeles	Los Angeles, CA
Edgar Odell Lovett	34 years (1912–1946)[12]	Rice Institute	Houston, TX
Thomas Hanna McMichael	33 years (1903-1936)[13]	Monmouth College	Monmouth, IL
C. Hoyt Watson	33 years (1926-1959)	Seattle Pacific University	Seattle, WA
Mark W. Ellingson	33 years (1936-1969)	Rochester Institute of Technology	Henrietta, NY
Palmer C. Ricketts	33 years (1901–1934)	Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute	Troy, NY
H. Mebane Turner	33 years (1969–2002)[14]	University of Baltimore	Baltimore, MD
Charles Schlimpert	33 years (1983–present)	Concordia University Portland	Portland, OR	Longest serving President in the State of Oregon
Joseph W. Polisi	32 years (1984–present)	The Juilliard School	New York City, NY
Cloyd H. Marvin	32 years (1927-1959)	George Washington University	Washington, DC
Steven Van Ausdle	32 years (1984–2016)	Walla Walla Community College	Walla Walla, WA
John F. MacArthur	31 years (1985–present)	The Master's College	Santa Clarita, CA	Longest serving president in the state of California
Henry Hardin Cherry	31 years (1906-1937)	Western Kentucky University	Bowling Green, KY
Felton G. Clark	31 years (1938-1969)	Southern University	Baton Rouge, LA
Claybrook Cottingham	31 years (1910-1941)	Louisiana College	Pineville, LA
Alvin O. Austin	30 years (1986-present)	LeTourneau University	Longview, TX	Served as President until 2007, then Chancellor
Charles Paul Conn	30 years (1986–present)	Lee University	Cleveland, TN
Lincoln Hulley	30 years (1904–1934)	Stetson University	DeLand, FL
Daniel R. Chamberlain	30 years (1976–2006)	Houghton College	Houghton, NY
John L. Lahey	29 years (1987–present)	Quinnipiac University	Hamden, CT
Edgar Young Mullins	29 years (1899-1928)	Southern Baptist Theological Seminary	Louisville, KY
Jeremiah Day	29 years (1817–1846)	Yale University	New Haven, CT
Rees Edgar Tulloss	29 years (1920-1949)	Wittenberg University	Springfield, OH
Albert Parker	29 years (1929-1958)	Hanover College	Hanover, IN
Jack L. Stark	29 years (1970–1999)	Claremont McKenna College	Claremont, CA
David Lieber	29 years (1964–1993)	University of Judaism	Bel-air, Los Angeles, CA
Charles E. Young	29 years (1968–1997)[15]	UCLA	Los Angeles, CA	Was also the president of the University of Florida from 1999-2003.
Edith Lesley	29 years (1909-1938)	Lesley University	Cambridge, MA
Edwin Massey	28 years (1988-present)	Indian River State College	Fort Pierce, FL
Ernest O. Holland	28 years (1916-1944)	Washington State University	Pullman, WA
Gary Cook	28 years (1988-present)	Dallas Baptist University	Dallas, TX	Served as President until 2015, then Chancellor
Katharine Elizabeth McBride	28 years (1942-1970)	Bryn Mawr College	Bryan Mawr, PA
M. Carey Thomas	28 years (1894-1922)	Bryn Mawr College	Bryan Mawr, PA
E. Wilson Lyon	28 years (1941-1969)	Pomona College	Claremont, CA
Daniel Fisher	28 years (1879-1907)	Hanover College	Hanover, IN
John A. Hannah	28 years (1941–1969)	Michigan State College	East Lansing, MI
Joab Mauldin Lesesne Jr.	28 years (1972-2000)	Wofford College	Spartanburg, SC
James R. Day	28 years (1894–1922)	Syracuse University	Syracuse, NY
William P. Tolley	27 years (1942–1969)	Syracuse University	Syracuse, NY
Diana Natalicio	27 years (1988–present)	University of Texas at El Paso	El Paso, TX	Longest serving president still sitting of a major public research university. Appointed interim president in 1987.[16]
Ray Lyman Wilbur	27 years (1916-1943)	Stanford University	Stanford, CA
James Henry Carlisle	27 years (1875-1902)	Wofford College	Spartanburg, SC
Edwin H. Welch	27 years (1989-present)	University of Charleston	Charleston, WV
Edward H. Hammond	27 years (1987-2014)	Fort Hays State University	Hays, KS
Bowman Foster Ashe	26 years (1926-1952)	University of Miami	Coral Gables, FL
Benjamin Labaree	26 years (1840–1866)	Middlebury College	Middlebury, VT
Dan Reneau	26 years (1987-2013)	Louisiana Tech University	Ruston, LA
Harry Augustus Garfield	26 years (1908-1934)	Williams College	Williamstown, MA
Alfred Bryan Bonds	26 years (1955–1981)	Baldwin Wallace University	Berea, OH
Elizabeth Coleman	26 years (1987–2013)	Bennington College	Bennington, VT
Royce Money	25 years (1991-present)	Abilene Christian University	Abilene, TX	Served as President until 2010, then Chancellor
Clyde Cook	25 years (1982-2007)[17]	Biola University	La Mirada, CA
James McCain	25 years (1950–1975)	Kansas State University	Manhattan, KS
Frederick L. Hovde	25 years (1946–1971)	Purdue University	West Lafayette, IN
Betty Siegel	25 years (1981–2006)	Kennesaw State University	Kennesaw, GA
Homer B. Williams	25 years (1912-1937)	Bowling Green State University	Bowling Green, OH
F. Jay Taylor	25 years (1962-1987)	Louisiana Tech University	Ruston, LA
Walter Washington	25 years (1969–1994)[18]	Alcorn State University	Lorman, MI
Theodore Dwight Woolsey	25 years (1846–1871)	Yale University	New Haven, CT

See also

• Academic Administration
• Chancellor (education)
• Higher education in the United States
• List of leaders of universities and colleges in the United States

Notes

1. For the purposes of the list, "Chancellor" and "President" are interchangeable titles.

References

1. http://www.ctmirror.org/sites/default/files/ACP%20report_0.pdf
2. "William & Mary - 19th Century Presidents".
3. Mangan, Katherine. "The Chronicle of Higher Education". America's Longest Serving President has More to Do. The Chronicle. Retrieved 30 May 2013.
4. "Executive Compensation at Private and Public Colleges". The Chronicle of Higher Education.
5. "Page not found - Westchester Community College".
6. Sarina, Trangle (2011-09-24). "President Joseph Hankin Celebrates 40 Years at WCC". Greenburgh Daily Voice. The Greenburgh Daily Voice. Retrieved 2012-10-16.
7. "About the President". Hampton University. Retrieved 7 June 2013.
8. http://www.emmanuel.edu/About_Emmanuel/News_and_Events/News/News_Articles/COFBillBrett.html
9. "About Marist - Dennis J. Murray: Marist College".
10. Hallman, Andy (June 20, 2016). "Lynch addresses M.U.M. graduates". The Fairfield Ledger. Retrieved June 21, 2016.
11. "Cal State L.A. President James M. Rosser Announces His Retirement". 18 September 2012. Retrieved 7 June 2013.
12. http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/flo34 | The Handbook of Texas | Accessed 13 April 2014
13. Davenport, F. Garvin (1953). Monmouth College : the first hundred years, 1853–1953. Iowa: Torch Press. p. 71. ASIN B007T3FF0G.
14. Bowler, Mike (29 June 2002). "The university that Meb built". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved 18 June 2013.
15. Chambers, Veronica. "College Presidents in the Spotlight". The New York Times. The New York Times Company. Retrieved 29 May 2013.
16. "UTEP Encyclopedia".
17. "Clyde Cook Biola Profile". Retrieved 4 September 2014.
18. "Alcorn State University: Past Presidents". Alcorn State University. Retrieved 20 September 2012.