# List of presidents of Washington College

Washington College is a private liberal arts college in Chestertown, Maryland, which is on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. The college was founded in 1782 by William Smith, but is the successor institution to the earlier Kent County Free School, which was founded in 1732. From the college's founding until 1922 the executive officer of the college was known as the principal of the college; subsequently, the executive officer is the president of the college. While the title changed, the office is considered to be the same and officeholders who were referred to as principals by their contemporaries are now referred to as presidents. Before the title change in 1922, the president of Washington College was the president of the Board of Visitors and Governors; since 1922, that position is the chair of the Board of Visitors and Governors.
The president of Washington College is appointed by the Board of Visitors and Governors and serves at the pleasure of the board. They are the chief executive officer and chief spokesperson of the college. As a part of their role, they are a voting member of the college's faculty and ex officio member of the Board of Visitors and Governors. There is no fixed compensation or pay scale for the position; each president negotiates a contract independently with the board. As a part of the position's compensation, the President of Washington College is given access to the Hynson-Ringgold House, which has been the official residence of the Washington College president since 1944.
At least 31 people have been the president of Washington College since 1782, four of whom have been interim presidents. Of the 31 presidents only one, Joseph McLain, was an alumnus of the college and only one, Sheila Bair, was a woman. The presidents of the college have been drawn from a variety of areas including religion, military service, governmental service, and academia. Six Washington College presidents were ordained in the Episcopal Church or the Methodist Protestant Church before their term. Several were also the rector of Emanuel Parish in Chestertown concurrent to their term as president. Washington College presidents have come from many parts of public life. Two were engaged in military service before their term and four were in public service. A singular president, Kurt M. Landgraf, was working in the private sector before his term. Most of the remaining presidents were academics before becoming president of the college. Three were presidents of other colleges, eight were academic administrators, five were faculty members at other colleges, and three were faculty members at Washington College before their terms.

## Principals and presidents of Washington College

* A "–" indicates that the individual served as Interim President.
| # | Photo | Name | Term begin | Term end | Previous experience | Notes |
| 1 | | William Smith | 1782 | 1789 | Priest in the Episcopal Church Provost of the Academy and College of Philadelphia | Founder of Washington College and St. John's College. |
| 2 | | Colin Ferguson | 1792 | 1805 | Priest in the Episcopal Church Professor of Languages, Mathematics, and Natural Philosophy at Washington College | |
| – | – | – | 1805 | 1813 | – | The name of the principal between 1805 and 1813 is unknown. |
| 3 | | Hugh McGuire | 1813 | 1815 | Teacher at St. John's College | |
| 4 | | Joab G. Cooper | 1816 | 1817 | Priest in the Episcopal Church | |
| – | | Gerard E. Stack | 1817 | 1818 | Temporary professor of Greek and Latin at Dickinson College | |
| 5 | | Francis Waters | 1818 | 1823 | Minister in the Methodist Protestant Church | Also the 9th Principal of Washington College |
| 6 | | Timothy Clowes | 1823 | 1829 | Priest in the Episcopal Church | |
| 7 | | Peter Clark | 1829 | 1832 | "spent three years at Dartmouth College" | |
| 8 | | Richard W. Ringgold | 1832 | 1854 | Member of the Maryland House of Delegates | |
| 9 | | Francis Waters | 1854 | 1860 | Minister in the Methodist Protestant Church | Also the 5th Principal of Washington College |
| 10 | | Andrew J. Sutton | 1860 | 1867 | Priest in the Episcopal Church Professor of Ancient and Modern Languages at Washington College | |
| 11 | | Robert C. Berkeley | 1867 | 1873 | Served in the Confederate Army as a Quartermaster Sergeant in Longstreet's Corps | |
| 12 | | William J. Rivers | 1873 | 1887 | Professor of Greek at the University of South Carolina | |
| 13 | | Thomas N. Williams | 1887 | 1889 | Superintendent of Delaware Public Schools | |
| 14 | | Charles W. Reid | 1889 | 1903 | Professor of Greek and German at St. John's College | |
| 15 | | James W. Cain | 1903 | 1918 | Professor of English and Political Economy at St. John's College | |
| 16 | | Clarence P. Gould | 1919 | 1923 | Professor of History at College of Wooster | The title of the chief executive of Washington College changed from Principal to President in 1922 |
| 17 | | Paul E. Titsworth | 1923 | 1933 | Dean of the College of Liberal Arts at Alfred University | |
| 18 | | Gilbert W. Mead | 1933 | 1949 | Dean of Birmingham–Southern College | |
| – | | Fredrick G. Livingood | 1949 | 1950 | Dean of Washington College and Professor of Education at Washington College | |
| 19 | | Daniel Z. Gibson | 1950 | 1970 | Dean of Franklin & Marshall College | |
| 20 | | Charles J. Merdinger | 1970 | 1973 | Commanding Officer of the Western Division of the Naval Facilities Engineering Command | |
| 21 | | Joseph McLain | 1973 | 1981 | Professor of Chemistry at Washington College | Only alumnus of Washington College to become president. |
| – | | Garry E. Clarke | 1981 | 1982 | Dean of Washington College and a professor of Music at Washington College | |
| 22 | | Douglass Cater | 1982 | 1990 | Vice Chairman of the London Observer Special Assistant to Lyndon B. Johnson | |
| 23 | | Charles H. Trout | 1990 | 1995 | Provost of Colgate University | |
| 24 | | John S. Toll | 1995 | 2004 | President of Stony Brook University Chancellor of the University System of Maryland | |
| 25 | | Baird Tipson | 2004 | 2010 | President of Wittenberg University President of Gettysburg College | |
| 26 | | Mitchell Reiss | 2010 | 2014 | United States Special Envoy for Northern Ireland | |
| – | | Jay Griswold | 2014 | 2015 | Chair of the Washington College Board of Visitors and Governors | |
| 27 | | Sheila Bair | 2015 | 2017 | Chair of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation | |
| 28 | | Kurt M. Landgraf | 2017 | 2020 | CEO of DuPont Member of the New Jersey Commission on Higher Education | |
| – | | Wayne B. Powell | 2020 | 2021 | President of Lenoir-Rhyne University | |
| 29 | | Michael J. Sosulski | 2021 | | Provost of Wofford College | Current officeholder |

## Timeline

Principal of Washington College • Acting Principal of Washington College • President of Washington College • Acting President of Washington College