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

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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, from 1804 to 1866.[1]

Eliphalet Nott, longest serving college president in US history

List

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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.[2] The list below consists of individuals who have served for 30 years or longer.

Name Term Start date End date College Location Notes[note 1]
Eliphalet Nott 62 years 1804 1866 Union College Schenectady, NY Longest serving college president in U.S. history.
Paul F. Beacham 59 years 1919 1978 Holmes Bible College[3] Greenville, SC Longest serving seminary president in U.S. history.
Bernard Pennings 57 years 1898 1955 St. Norbert College De Pere, WI
B. B. Dougherty 56 years 1899 1955 Appalachian State University Boone, NC Founder, longest serving president in North Carolina.
Richard I. Gouse 55 years[4] 1971 present New England Institute of Technology East Greenwich, RI Only 24 at the time of assuming his position.
Victor G. Alicea 52 years[5] 1974 present Boricua College New York, NY Founding leader
Edward W. France 52 years 1888 1940 Philadelphia University Philadelphia, PA
Frederic W. Boatwright 51 years 1895 1946 University of Richmond Richmond, VA
Leon Botstein 51 years 1975 2026 Bard College Annandale-on-Hudson, NY
James Blair 50 years 1693 1743 College of William and Mary Williamsburg, VA
Lionel R. Bordeaux 50 years 1972 2022 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. Died in 2022.[6]
Francis H. Smith 50 years 1839 1889 Virginia Military Institute Lexington, VA Longest serving military superintendent in U.S. history
Jack Evans, Sr.[7] 49 years 1967 2016 Southwestern Christian College Terrell, TX
Norman Francis 47 years 1968 2015 Xavier University of Louisiana New Orleans, LA [8]
Albert Gardner Boyden 46 years 1860 1906 Bridgewater Normal School Bridgewater, MA Succeeded by his son, Arthur Clarke Boyden, who served from 1906 to 1933. Father and son totaled 73 years of leadership.[9]
Chatt G. Wright 45 years 1976 2011 Hawaii Pacific University Honolulu, Hi
William R. Harvey 44 years[10] 1978 2022 Hampton University Hampton, VA
Frederic B. Pratt 44 years 1893 1937 Pratt Institute Brooklyn, NY
Charles A. Blanchard 43 years 1882 1925 Wheaton College Wheaton, IL
Daniel L. Anderson 43 years 1983 present Appalachian Bible College Mount Hope, WV [11]
Nicholas Murray Butler 43 years 1902 1945 Columbia University New York, NY
Clarence W. Daugette 43 years 1899 1942 Jacksonville State University Jacksonville, AL Alabama's longest serving university president.
Joseph N. Hankin 43 years[12] 1971 2014 Westchester Community College Valhalla, NY Longest serving community college president in the US.[13]
William Fletcher King[14] 43 years 1863 1908 Cornell College Mount Vernon, IA 1863-1865 served as Acting President
Luns C. Richardson 43 years 1974 2017 Morris College Sumter, SC
Frances Shimer 43 years 1853 1896 Shimer College Chicago, IL
Joseph N. Hankin 42 years 1971 2013 Westchester Community College Valhalla, New York Longest serving community college president[15]
V. Clyde Muse 42 years 1978 2020 Hinds Community College Raymond, MS
Pat Robertson 42 years 1978 2023 Regent University Virginia Beach, VA
Janet Eisner 41 years 1979 2022 Emmanuel College Boston, MA
Ralph Waldo Emerson Jones 41 years 1936 1977 Grambling State University Grambling, LA
William Foster Peirce 41 years 1896 1937 Kenyon College Gambier, OH
W. Burkette Raper 41 years 1954 1995 University of Mount Olive Mount Olive, NC
Faith A. Takes 41 years 1985 present Mildred Elley Albany, NY
W. Sam Monroe 40 years 1974 2014 Lamar State College-Port Arthur Port Arthur, TX
Stephen B. L. Penrose 40 years 1894 1934 Whitman College Walla Walla, WA
Henry N. Snyder 40 years 1902 1942 Wofford College Spartanburg, SC
Robert H. Spence 40 years 1974 2014 Evangel University Springfield, MO
Charles William Eliot 40 years 1869 1909 Harvard University Cambridge, MA
Abbot Leo Haid 39 years 1885 1924 Belmont Abbey College Belmont, NC The first president of the college.
Dennis J. Murray 39 years[16] 1979

2019

 2016

2021

 Marist College Poughkeepsie, NY President twice
James Burrill Angell 38 years 1871 1909 University of Michigan Ann Arbor, MI
David L. Eubanks 38 years 1969 2007 Johnson Bible College Knoxville, TN
Russell Conwell 38 years 1887 1925 Temple University Philadelphia, PA
John F. MacArthur 38 years 1985 2019 The Master's College Santa Clarita, CA Chancellor afterwards.
Philip Pumerantz 38 years 1977 2015 Western University of Health Sciences Pomona, CA Longest serving president in the state of California. Founding president.
Jack Hawkins Jr. 37 years 1989 present Troy University Troy, AL
Mary Eileen O'Brien 37 years 1979

1997

 1987

2024

 Dominican University New York Orangeburg, New York President twice
William Burns Paterson 37 years 1878 1915 Alabama State University 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 D'Youville College Buffalo, NY
Mary Emma Woolley 37 years 1900 1937 Mount Holyoke College South Hadley, MA
William H. Black 36 years 1890 1926 Missouri Valley College Marshall, MO
Sharon C. Diaz 36 years 1982 2018 Samuel Merritt University Oakland, CA
Jerry Falwell 36 years 1971 2007 Liberty University Lynchburg, VA
Cornelius P. Haggard 36 years 1939 1975 Azusa Pacific University Azusa, CA
Mark Hopkins 36 years 1836 1872 Williams College Williamstown, MA
Robert L. McLendon Jr. 36 years 1972 2008 St. Johns River State College Palatka, FL
Franklin Benjamin Moore 36 years 1898 1934 Rider University Lawrenceville, NJ
Bevan Morris 36 years[17] 1980 2016 Maharishi University of Management Fairfield, IA
George A. Pruitt 36 years[18] 1982 2018 Thomas Edison State University Trenton, NJ Longest serving president in the state of New Jersey
Marilyn Schlack 36 years 1982 2018 Kalamazoo Valley Community College Kalamazoo, MI
John Wheelock 36 years 1779 1815 Dartmouth College Hanover, NH
Theodore Hesburgh 35 years 1952 1987 University of Notre Dame South Bend, IN
Franklin Frazee Moore 36 years 1934 1969 Rider University Lawrenceville, NJ
Charles P. Adams 35 years 1901 1936 Grambling State University Grambling, LA
Willard M. Aldrich 35 years 1943 1978 Multnomah University Portland, OR
Martin Brewer Anderson 35 years 1853 1888 University of Rochester Rochester, NY
William Lowe Bryan 35 years 1902 1937 Indiana University Bloomington, IN
E. George Evans 35 years 1884 1919 Champlain College Burlington, VT
Jairy C. Hunter Jr. 35 years 1983 2018 Charleston Southern University Charleston, SC
Nathan Lord 35 years 1828 1863 Dartmouth College Hanover, NH
Stephen W. Paine 35 Years 1937 1972 Houghton College Houghton, NY
Joel Read 35 years 1968 2003 Alverno College Milwaukee, WI
Benjamin Rush Rhees 35 years 1900 1935 University of Rochester Rochester, NY
Charles Schlimpert 35 years 1983 2018 Concordia University Portland Portland, OR Longest serving President in the State of Oregon
James H. Taylor 35 years 1980 2015 University of the Cumberlands Williamsburg, KY
A. Gordon Tittemore 35 years 1920 1955 Champlain College Burlington, VT
Ray Paul Authement, Sr. 34 years 1974 2008 University of Louisiana at Lafayette Lafayette, La
Charles Paul Conn 34 years 1986 2020 Lee University Cleveland, TN
Jerry C. Davis 34 years 1988 2022 College of the Ozarks Point Lookout, MO Chancellor from 2022[19]
Mordecai Wyatt Johnson 34 years 1926 1960 Howard University Washington, D.C.
Bob Jones III 34 years 1971 2005 Bob Jones University Greenville, SC Served as President until 2005, then Chancellor.
Edgar Odell Lovett 34 years[20] 1912 1946 Rice Institute Houston, TX
J. Donald Monan 34 years 1972 1996 Boston College Chestnut Hill, MA Served as President until 1996, then Chancellor.
Joseph W. Polisi 34 years 1984 2018 The Juilliard School New York City, NY
James M. Rosser 34 years[21] 1979 2013 California State University, Los Angeles Los Angeles, CA
Eugene C. Sanderson 34 years 1895 1929 Northwest Christian University Eugene, OR
Kenneth C.M. Sills 34 years 1918 1952 Bowdoin College Brunswick, ME
W. Wilbert Welch 34 years 1959 1983 Cornerstone University Grand Rapids, MI Served as President until 1983, then Chancellor.
Lester E Pipkin 33 years 1950 1983 Appalachian Bible College Mount Hope, WV Served as co-founder and president from 1950-1983 then as Chancellor from 1983-2001
Mark W. Ellingson 33 years 1936 1969 Rochester Institute of Technology Henrietta, NY
William Parker McKee 33 years 1897 1930 Shimer College Chicago, IL
Thomas Hanna McMichael 33 years[22] 1903 1936 Monmouth College Monmouth, IL
Albert Mohler 33 years 1993 present Southern Baptist Theological Seminary Louisville, KY
Palmer C. Ricketts 33 years 1901 1934 Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Troy, NY
H. Mebane Turner 33 years[23] 1969 2002 University of Baltimore Baltimore, MD
C. Hoyt Watson 33 years 1926 1959 Seattle Pacific University Seattle, WA
Samuel Belkin 32 years 1943 1975 Yeshiva University New York, NY
Ronald L. Ellis 32 years 1994 present California Baptist University Riverside, CA Since becoming president in 1994, enrollment has grown from 808 to 11,931.
Cloyd H. Marvin 32 years 1927 1959 George Washington University Washington, DC
Edwin Massey 32 years 1988 2020 Indian River State College Fort Pierce, FL
Henry T. Moore 32 years 1925 1957 Skidmore College Saratoga Springs, NY
Henry Morton (scientist) 32 years 1870 1902 Stevens Institute of Technology Hoboken, NJ First president of Stevens and namesake of the Morton Memorial Laboratory of Chemistry on the NRHP since 2022.
James Kennedy Patterson 32 years 1878 1910 University of Kentucky Lexington, KY
Andrew Jackson Rider 32 years 1866 1898 Rider University Lawrenceville, NJ First president of the college
Kurt R. Schmeller [24] 32 years 1967 1999 Queensborough Community College Queens, NY
Steven Van Ausdle 32 years 1984 2016 Walla Walla Community College Walla Walla, WA
Jahnae H. Barnett 31 years 1990 2021 William Woods University Fulton, MO
James Carnahan 31 years 1823 1854 Princeton University Princeton, NJ
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
Duke Kimbrough McCall 31 years 1951 1982 Southern Baptist Theological Seminary Louisville, KY
Athens Clay Pullias 31 years 1946 1977 Lipscomb University Nashville, TN
Claybrook Cottingham 31 years 1910 1941 Louisiana College Pineville, LA
R. M. Good 31 years 1921 1952 College of the Ozarks Point Lookout, MO
John L. Lahey 31 years 1987 2018 Quinnipiac University Hamden, CT
Diana Natalicio 31 years 1988 2019 University of Texas at El Paso El Paso, TX
Thomas Welder 31 years 1978 2009 University of Mary Bismarck, ND
Richard E. Wylie 31 years 1987 2018 Endicott College Beverley, MA
Henry T. Yang 31 years 1994 2025 University of California, Santa Barbara Santa Barbara, CA Longest serving Chancellor in the history of the University of California[25]
Curtis L. Ivery 30 years 1995[26] present Wayne County Community College District Metro-Detroit, MI
Thomas Duckett Boyd 30 years 1896 1926 Louisiana State University Baton Rouge, LA Previously served as interim President of LSU in 1886
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
Freeman A. Hrabowski III 30 years 1992 2022 University of Maryland Baltimore County Baltimore, MD
Lincoln Hulley 30 years 1904 1934 Stetson University DeLand, FL
William P. Leahy 30 years[27] 1996 Present Boston College Chestnut Hill, MA Retiring summer 2026[28]
William L. Proctor 30 years 1971 2001 Flagler College St. Augustine, FL Served as President until 2001, then as Chancellor from 2001 to 2020.[29]
Carol Jean Vale 30 years 1992 2022 Chestnut Hill College Philadelphia, PA


See also

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Notes

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

References

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  1. ↑ "Eliphalet Nott | Union College". www.union.edu. Retrieved 2025-06-06.
  2. ↑ http://www.ctmirror.org/sites/default/files/ACP%20report_0.pdf[permanent dead link]
  3. ↑ "Holmes Bible College". South Carolina Encyclopedia. Retrieved 2025-05-26.
  4. ↑ "Executive Compensation at Private and Public Colleges". The Chronicle of Higher Education.
  5. ↑ "Dr. Victor G. Alicea Named to City & State's 2023 "Higher Education Power 100" List". Boricua College. Retrieved 2026-05-27.
  6. ↑ 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". Retrieved 2023-09-10.
  7. ↑ Ross, Bobby (16 May 2017). "Join in with us to save Southwestern". The Christian Chronicle. Retrieved 27 October 2018.
  8. ↑ Mangan, Katherine. "The Chronicle of Higher Education". America's Longest Serving President has More to Do. The Chronicle. Retrieved 30 May 2013.
  9. ↑ "Leading the Journey: The Principals and Presidents of BSU". Retrieved October 31, 2022.
  10. ↑ "About the President". Hampton University. Retrieved 7 June 2013.
  11. ↑ "Dr. Daniel Anderson | College President | Biblical Slave Leadership".
  12. ↑ "Page not found – Westchester Community College". Archived from the original on 2012-07-03. {{cite web}}: Cite uses generic title (help)
  13. ↑ Sarina, Trangle (2011-09-24). "President Joseph Hankin Celebrates 40 Years at WCC". Greenburgh Daily Voice. The Greenburgh Daily Voice. Retrieved 2012-10-16.
  14. ↑ "List of Cornell College Presidents | Cornell College". www.cornellcollege.edu. Retrieved 2017-11-07.
  15. ↑ "TC Alumnus Joseph N. Hankin, 67: America's longest-serving community college president". Teachers College - Columbia University. Retrieved 2025-12-27.
  16. ↑ "About Marist – Dennis J. Murray: Marist College".
  17. ↑ Hallman, Andy (June 20, 2016). "Lynch addresses M.U.M. graduates". The Fairfield Ledger. Retrieved June 21, 2016.[dead link]
  18. ↑ "Thomas Edison State University names new president". 20 December 2017. Retrieved 19 June 2018.
  19. ↑ "News". www.cofo.edu. Retrieved 2024-07-12.
  20. ↑ http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/flo34 | The Handbook of Texas | Accessed 13 April 2014
  21. ↑ "Cal State L.A. President James M. Rosser Announces His Retirement". 18 September 2012. Retrieved 7 June 2013.
  22. ↑ Davenport, F. Garvin (1953). Monmouth College : the first hundred years, 1853–1953. Iowa: Torch Press. p. 71. ASIN B007T3FF0G.
  23. ↑ Bowler, Mike (29 June 2002). "The university that Meb built". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved 18 June 2013.
  24. ↑ "Queensborough Community College".
  25. ↑ Indy Staff (2024-08-14). "UC Santa Barbara Chancellor Henry Yang Stepping Down". The Santa Barbara Independent. Retrieved 2025-05-26.
  26. ↑ "He thought he'd be a short-timer, 30 years later Wayne County educator is still here". www.wcccd.edu. Retrieved 2026-05-02.
  27. ↑ Rosenthal, Kyle. "The Search for Leahy's Successor". The Heights. Retrieved 2026-02-26.
  28. ↑ Flannery, Curtis (2025-02-18). "Boston College Announces Jack Butler to Replace William Leahy as Boston College President". BC Interruption. Retrieved 2026-05-02.
  29. ↑ "William Proctor". Florida Veterans' Hall Of Fame Society. Retrieved 2023-09-10.
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