List of longest serving higher education presidents in the United States
List
Table:
Name

Term

Start Date

End Date

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.

Abbot Bernard Pennings

57 years

1898

1955

St. Norbert College

De Pere, WI

The first and longest serving president of the College.

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.

Edward W. France

52 years

1888

1940

Philadelphia University

Philadelphia, PA

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

2016

Southwestern Christian College

Terrell, TX

Currently president emeritus.[3]

Norman Francis

47 years

1968

2015

Xavier University of Louisiana

New Orleans, LA

[4]

Richard I. Gouse

47 years[5]

1971

present

New England Institute of Technology

East Greenwich, RI

Only 24 at the time of assuming his position.

William L. Proctor

48 years

1971

present

Flagler College

St. Augustine, FL

Served as President until 2001, then Chancellor.

Bob Jones III

48 years

1971

present

Bob Jones University

Greenville, SC

Served as President until 2005, then Chancellor.

Lionel R. Bordeaux

46 years

1972

present

Sinte Gleska University

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.

Ronald E. Carrier

46 years

1971

2017

James Madison University

Harrisonburg, VA

Served as President until 1998, then Chancellor.

J. Donald Monan

45 years

1972

2017

Boston College

Chestnut Hill, MA

Served as President until 1996, then Chancellor.

Robert H. Spence

44 years

1974

present

Evangel University

Springfield, MO

Served until May 1, 2014 as President, and since then as Chancellor

V. Clyde Muse

41 years

1978

present

Hinds Community College

Raymond, MS

Frederic B. Pratt

44 years

1893

1937

Pratt Institute

Brooklyn, NY

Frances Shimer

43 years

1853

1896

Shimer College

Chicago, IL

Founded Mount Carroll Seminary, which later became Shimer College.

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[6]

1971

2014

Westchester Community College

Valhalla, NY

Longest serving community college president in the US.[7]

Luns C. Richardson

43 years

1974

2017

Morris College

Sumter, SC

Life Member and Golden Heritage Member of the NAACP

Charles A. Blanchard

43 years

1882

1925

Wheaton College

Wheaton, IL

William Fletcher King[8]

43 years

1863

1908

Cornell College

Mount Vernon, IA

1863-1865 served as Acting President

Leon Botstein

43 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 N. Snyder

40 years

1902

1942

Wofford College

Spartanburg, SC

Stephen B. L. Penrose

40 years

1894

1934

Whitman College

Walla Walla, WA

Pat Robertson

40 years

1978

present

Regent University

Virginia Beach, VA

William R. Harvey

40 years[9]

1978

present

Hampton University

Hampton, VA

Janet Eisner

39 years

1979

present

Emmanuel College

Boston, MA

Longest serving female president still sitting.[10]

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

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

Russell Conwell

38 years

1887

1925

Temple University

Philadelphia, PA

Dennis J. Murray

37 years[11]

1979

2016

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

Marilyn Schlack

36 years

1982

2018

Kalamazoo Valley Community College

Kalamazoo, MI

George A. Pruitt

36 years[12]

1982

2018

Thomas Edison State University

Trenton, NJ

Longest serving president in the state of New Jersey

Jerry Falwell

36 years

1971

2007

Liberty University

Lynchburg, VA

Franklin Benjamin Moore

36 years

1898

1934

Rider University

Lawrenceville, NJ

Mark Hopkins

36 years

1836

1872

Williams College

Williamstown, MA

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[13]

1980

2016

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

Franklin Frazee Moore

36 years

1934

1969

Rider University

Lawrenceville, NJ

Stephen W. Paine

35 Years

1937

1972

Houghton College

Houghton, NY

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

Martin Brewer Anderson

35 years

1853

1888

University of Rochester

Rochester, NY

Benjamin Rush Rhees

35 years

1900

1935

University of Rochester

Rochester, NY

Jairy C. Hunter Jr.

35 years

1983

2018

Charleston Southern University

Charleston, SC

Longest serving president for the university

Charles Schlimpert

35 years

1983

2018

Concordia University Portland

Portland, OR

Longest serving President in the State of Oregon

Kenneth C.M. Sills

34 years

1918

1952

Bowdoin College

Brunswick, ME

Joseph W. Polisi

34 years

1984

2018

The Juilliard School

New York City, NY

Mordecai Wyatt Johnson

34 years

1926

1960

Howard University

Washington, D.C.

Ray Paul Authement, Sr.

34 years

1974

2008

University of Louisiana at Lafayette

Lafayette, La

Eugene C. Sanderson

34 years

1895

1929

Northwest Christian University

Eugene, OR

James M Rosser

34 years[14]

1979

2013

California State University, Los Angeles

Los Angeles, CA

Edgar Odell Lovett

34 years[15]

1912

1946

Rice Institute

Houston, TX

John F. MacArthur

33 years

1985

present

The Master's College

Santa Clarita, CA

Faith A. Takes

33 years

1985

present

Mildred Elley

Albany, NY

Longest serving 2-year college president still sitting

Thomas Hanna McMichael

33 years[16]

1903

1936

Monmouth College

Monmouth, IL

C. Hoyt Watson

33 years

1926

1959

Seattle Pacific University

Seattle, WA

William Parker McKee

33 years

1897

1930

Shimer College

Chicago, IL

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[17]

1969

2002

University of Baltimore

Baltimore, MD

Alvin O. Austin

32 years

1986

present

LeTourneau University

Longview, TX

Served as President until 2007, then Chancellor

Charles Paul Conn

32 years

1986

present

Lee University

Cleveland, TN

Andrew Jackson Rider

32 years

1866

1898

Rider University

Lawrenceville, NJ

First president of the college

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

Samuel Belkin

32 years

1943

1975

Yeshiva University

New York, NY

Richard E. Wylie

31 years

1987

2018

Endicott College

Beverley, MA

Henry Hardin Cherry

31 years

1906

1937

Western Kentucky University

Bowling Green, KY

Duke Kimbrough McCall

31 years

1951

1982

Southern Baptist Theological Seminary

Louisville, KY

Athens Clay Pullias

31 years

1946

1977

Lipscomb University

Nashville, TN

R. M. Good

31 years

1921

1952

College of the Ozarks

Point Lookout, MO

Felton G. Clark

31 years

1938

1969

Southern University

Baton Rouge, LA

Claybrook Cottingham

31 years

1910

1941

Louisiana College

Pineville, LA

John Silber

31 years

1971

2002

Boston University

Boston, MA

Served as President until 1996, then Chancellor. Sabbatical leave 1987–1988 and 1990

James Carnahan

31 years

1823

1854

Princeton University

Princeton, NJ

John L. Lahey

31 years

1987

2018

Quinnipiac University

Hamden, CT

Sr. Thomas Welder

31 years

1978

2009

University of Mary

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.

Edwin Massey

30 years

1988

present

Indian River State College

Fort Pierce, FL

Jerry C. Davis

30 years

1988

present

College of the Ozarks

Point Lookout, MO

Gary Cook

30 years

1988

present

Dallas Baptist University

Dallas, TX

Served as President until 2015, then Chancellor

Thomas Duckett Boyd

30 years

1896

1926

Louisiana State University

Baton Rouge, LA

Previously served as interim President of LSU in 1886

Lincoln Hulley

30 years

1904

1934

Stetson University

DeLand, FL

Daniel R. Chamberlain

30 years

1976

2006

Houghton College

Houghton, NY

Richard V. Clearwaters

30 years

1956

1986

Central Baptist Theological Seminary of Minneapolis

Plymouth, MN

Ernest O. Holland

30 years

1915

1945

Washington State University

Pullman, WA

Diana Natalicio

30 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.[18]

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