List of longest-serving higher education presidents in the United States explained

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).

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 30 years or longer.

List

width=150ptName ! Term Start Date ! End Date College ! Location Notes[2]
61 years 1805 1866 Schenectady, NY Longest serving college president in U.S. history.
Paul F. Beacham 59 years 1919 1978 Greenville, SC Longest serving seminary president in U.S. history.
Abbot Bernard Pennings 57 years 1898 1955 De Pere, WI The first and longest serving president of the College.
B. B. Dougherty 56 years 1899 1955 Boone, NC
53 years[3] 1971 present East Greenwich, RI Only 24 at the time of assuming his position.
Edward W. France 52 years 1888 1940 Philadelphia, PA
51 years 1895 1946 Richmond, VA President of Richmond College 1895–1920, University of Richmond 1920–1946 and Chancellor 1946–1951
50 years 1839 1889 Lexington, VA Longest serving military superintendent in U.S. history
50 years 1693 1743 Williamsburg, VA The first and longest serving president of the college.[4]
Lionel R. Bordeaux 50 years 1972 2022 Mission, SD Provided leadership for the first fully accredited reservation-based institution of higher education at the bachelor's degree level. Black Hills State University named a residence hall in his honor. Died in 2022.[5]
Jack Evans, Sr 49 years 1967 2016 Terrell, TX Currently president emeritus.[6]
49 years 1975 present Annandale-on-Hudson, NY
47 years 1968 2015 New Orleans, LA [7]
Albert Gardner Boyden 46 years 1860 1906 Bridgewater, MA Principal of Bridgewater Normal School. Succeeded by his son, Arthur Clarke Boyden, who served as principal from 1906-1932 and as president of the renamed Bridgewater State Teachers College from 1932-1933. Father and son totalled 73 years of leadership.[8]
Robert H. Spence 46 years 1974 2020 Springfield, MO Served until May 1, 2014 as President, and Chancellor from 2014 to his death in 2020.[9]
45 years 1976 2011 Honolulu, Hi
44 years[10] 1978 2022 Hampton, VA
44 years 1893 1937 Brooklyn, NY
43 years 1853 1896 Chicago, IL Founded Mount Carroll Seminary, which later became Shimer College.
Clarence W. Daugette 43 years 1899 1942 Jacksonville, AL State of Alabama's longest serving university president.
43 years 1902 1945 New York, NY Columbia's longest serving president.
34 years 1959 1983 Grand Rapids, MI Served as President until 1983, then Chancellor.
34 years 1972 1996 Chestnut Hill, MA Served as President until 1996, then Chancellor.
Lester E Pipkin 33 years 1950 1983 Mount Hope, WV Served as co-founder and president from 1950-1983 then as Chancellor from 1983-2001
Joseph N. Hankin 43 years[11] 1971 2014 Valhalla, NY Longest serving community college president in the US.[12]
Luns C. Richardson 43 years 1974 2017 Sumter, SC Life Member and Golden Heritage Member of the NAACP
43 years 1882 1925 Wheaton, IL
William Fletcher King[13] 43 years 1863 1908 Mount Vernon, IA 1863-1865 served as Acting President
Dennis J. Murray42 years[14] 19792021Marist CollegePoughkeepsie, NYAs President (1979-2016), President Emeritus (2016-19), and President again from 2019-2021.
42 years 1978 2023 Virginia Beach, VA
V. Clyde Muse 42 years 1978 2020 Hinds Community College Raymond, MS
41 years 1979 2022 Boston, MA At the time of her retirement, she was the longest-serving female president still sitting, as well as the longest-currently-serving president of a Catholic college or university .[15] [16]
41 years 1936 1977 Grambling, LA
W. Burkette Raper 41 years 1954 1995 Mount Olive, NC Youngest and longest tenured president of University of Mount Olive
William Foster Peirce 41 years 1896 1937 Gambier, OH Assumed the presidency at the age of 28
Daniel L. Anderson 41 years 1983 present Mount Hope, WV [17]
W. Sam Monroe 40 years 1974 2014 Port Arthur, TX
40 years 1869 1909 Cambridge, MA
40 years 1902 1942 Spartanburg, SC
Stephen B. L. Penrose 40 years 1894 1934 Walla Walla, WA
Abbot Leo Haid 39 years 1885 1924 Belmont, NC The first and longest serving president of the College.
Faith A. Takes 39 years 1985 present Albany, NY
38 years 1969 2007 Knoxville, TN
38 years 1871 1909 Ann Arbor, MI UM's longest serving president
38 years 1977 2015 Pomona, CA Longest serving president in the state of California. Founding president of the College of Osteopathic Medicine of the Pacific (1977), which became Western University of Health Sciences in 1996
38 years 1887 1925 Philadelphia, PA
38 years 1985 2019 Santa Clarita, CA Served until 2019, then Chancellor
37 years 1878 1915 Montgomery, AL At the time of his appointment, the school was then named Lincoln Normal School and based in Marion. The school moved to Montgomery in 1887 and changed its name to the Normal School for Colored Students.
Sister Denise Roche 37 years 1979 2016 Buffalo, NY
37 years 1900 1937 South Hadley, MA
William H. Black 36 years 1890 1926 Marshall, MO
Marilyn Schlack 36 years 1982 2018 Kalamazoo, MI
George A. Pruitt 36 years[18] 1982 2018 Trenton, NJ Longest serving president in the state of New Jersey
Sharon C. Diaz 36 years 1982 2018 Oakland, CA
36 years 1971 2007 Lynchburg, VA
Franklin Benjamin Moore 36 years 1898 1934 Lawrenceville, NJ
36 years 1836 1872 Williamstown, MA
36 years 1779 1815 Hanover, NH Dartmouth's longest serving president
Robert L. McLendon Jr. 36 years 1972 2008 Palatka, FL
36 years[19] 1980 2016 Fairfield, IA
Cornelius P. Haggard 36 years 1939 1975 Azusa, CA
35 years 1952 1987 South Bend, IN
Franklin Frazee Moore 36 years 1934 1969 Lawrenceville, NJ
Stephen W. Paine 35 Years 1937 1972 Houghton, NY
35 years 1901 1936 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 Portland, OR
35 years 1828 1863 Hanover, NH
E. George Evans 35 years 1884 1919 Burlington, VT
A. Gordon Tittemore 35 years 1920 1955 Burlington, VT
35 years 1968 2003 Milwaukee, WI
35 years 1902 1937 Bloomington, IN
35 years 1853 1888 Rochester, NY
35 years 1900 1935 Rochester, NY
Jairy C. Hunter Jr. 35 years 1983 2018 Charleston, SC Longest serving president for the university
Charles Schlimpert 35 years 1983 2018 Portland, OR Longest serving President in the State of Oregon
James H. Taylor 35 years 1980 2015 Williamsburg, KY
Jack Hawkins Jr. 35 years 1989 present Troy, AL
34 years 1971 2005 Greenville, SC Served as President until 2005, then Chancellor.
34 years 1986 2020 Cleveland, TN
34 years 1918 1952 Brunswick, ME
34 years 1984 2018 New York City, NY
34 years 1926 1960 Washington, D.C.
Ray Paul Authement, Sr. 34 years 1974 2008 Lafayette, La
Eugene C. Sanderson 34 years 1895 1929 Eugene, OR
James M Rosser 34 years[20] 1979 2013 Los Angeles, CA
34 years[21] The Handbook of Texas Accessed 13 April 2014 1912 1946 Houston, TX
Jerry C. Davis 34 years 1988 2022 Point Lookout, MO Chancellor from 2022[22]
33 years[23] 1903 1936 Monmouth, IL
C. Hoyt Watson 33 years 1926 1959 Seattle, WA
33 years 1897 1930 Chicago, IL
33 years 1936 1969 Henrietta, NY
33 years 1901 1934 Troy, NY
H. Mebane Turner 33 years[24] 1969 2002 Baltimore, MD
Edwin Massey 32 years 1988 2020 Fort Pierce, FL
Kurt R. Schmeller [25] 32 years19671999Queensborough Community CollegeQueens, NY
Andrew Jackson Rider 32 years 1866 1898 Lawrenceville, NJ First president of the college - 32 years 1878 1910 Lexington, KY
32 years 1927 1959 Washington, DC
Steven Van Ausdle 32 years 1984 2016 Walla Walla, WA
32 years 1943 1975 New York, NY
Richard E. Wylie 31 years 1987 2018 Beverley, MA
31 years 1906 1937 Bowling Green, KY
31 years 1951 1982 Louisville, KY
Athens Clay Pullias 31 years 1946 1977 Nashville, TN
R. M. Good 31 years 1921 1952 Point Lookout, MO
Felton G. Clark 31 years 1938 1969 Baton Rouge, LA
31 years 1910 1941 Pineville, LA
31 years 1823 1854 Princeton, NJ
31 years 1987 2018 Hamden, CT
31 years 1988 2019 El Paso, TX
31 years 1990 2021 Fulton, MO
31 years 1978 2009 Bismarck, ND For her tenure and service, Sr. Thomas Welder was given the Roughrider Award by the state of North Dakota, inducting her into its hall of fame.
30 years 1896 1926 Baton Rouge, LA Previously served as interim President of LSU in 1886
Lincoln Hulley 30 years 1904 1934 DeLand, FL
30 years 1976 2006 Houghton, NY
Richard V. Clearwaters 30 years 1956 1986 Plymouth, MN
30 years 1915 1945 Pullman, WA
30 years 19922022 Baltimore, MD
Carol Jean Vale30 years19922022Chestnut Hill CollegePhiladelphia, PA
William L. Proctor30 years19712001Flagler CollegeSt. Augustine, FLServed as President until 2001, then Chancellor from 2001 to 2020.[26]

See also

Notes and References

  1. http://www.ctmirror.org/sites/default/files/ACP%20report_0.pdf{{dead link|date=December 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}
  2. For the purposes of the list, "Chancellor" and "President" are interchangeable titles.
  3. Web site: Executive Compensation at Private and Public Colleges. The Chronicle of Higher Education.
  4. Web site: William & Mary – 19th Century Presidents. 2013-06-06. https://web.archive.org/web/20100528155323/http://www.wm.edu/about/administration/president/history/nineteen/index.php. 2010-05-28. dead.
  5. Web site: Fund . College . 2022-11-21 . Lionel R. Bordeaux, Wakinyan Wanbli, President of Sinte Gleska University for 50 Years, Departs for Spirit World American Indian College Fund . 2023-09-10 . en-US.
  6. News: Ross . Bobby . Join in with us to save Southwestern . 27 October 2018 . The Christian Chronicle . 16 May 2017.
  7. Web site: Mangan. Katherine. The Chronicle of Higher Education. America's Longest Serving President has More to Do.. The Chronicle. 30 May 2013.
  8. Web site: Leading the Journey: The Principals and Presidents of BSU. October 31, 2022.
  9. Web site: Honoring Robert H. Spence . 2023-09-10 . Evangel University . en-US.
  10. Web site: About the President. Hampton University. 7 June 2013.
  11. Web site: Page not found – Westchester Community College. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20120703013544/http://www.sunywcc.edu/aboutwcc/whats_new/drhankin.htm. 2012-07-03.
  12. Web site: President Joseph Hankin Celebrates 40 Years at WCC . 2012-10-16 . Sarina . Trangle . 2011-09-24 . Greenburgh Daily Voice . The Greenburgh Daily Voice.
  13. Web site: List of Cornell College Presidents Cornell College . www.cornellcollege.edu. en-US. 2017-11-07.
  14. Web site: About Marist – Dennis J. Murray: Marist College.
  15. Web site: Emmanuel President Honored along with Women Presidents of the Colleges of the Fenway . 2013-06-11 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20130816043656/http://emmanuel.edu/About_Emmanuel/News_and_Events/News/News_Articles/COFBillBrett.html . 2013-08-16 .
  16. Web site: At The Helm-Featured Profile SP2022-Eisner . 2022-09-27 . www.accunet.org.
  17. Web site: Dr. Daniel Anderson | College President | Biblical Slave Leadership .
  18. News: Thomas Edison State University names new president. 19 June 2018. 20 December 2017.
  19. News: Hallman . Andy . Lynch addresses M.U.M. graduates . The Fairfield Ledger . June 20, 2016 . June 21, 2016 .
  20. News: Cal State L.A. President James M. Rosser Announces His Retirement. 7 June 2013. 18 September 2012.
  21. http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/flo34
  22. Web site: News . 2024-07-12 . www.cofo.edu.
  23. Book: Davenport, F. Garvin. Monmouth College : the first hundred years, 1853–1953. Torch Press. 1953. Iowa. 71. B007T3FF0G.
  24. News: Bowler. Mike. The university that Meb built. 18 June 2013. The Baltimore Sun. 29 June 2002.
  25. Web site: Queensborough Community College.
  26. Web site: William Proctor . 2023-09-10 . Florida Veterans' Hall Of Fame Society . en.

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "List of longest-serving higher education presidents in the United States".

Except where otherwise indicated, Everything.Explained.Today is © Copyright 2009-2025, A B Cryer, All Rights Reserved. Cookie policy.