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The president of Columbia University is the chief officer of Columbia University in New York City. The position was created in 1754 by the original royal charter for the university, issued by George II, and the power to appoint the president was given to an autonomous board of trustees. The university suspended operations upon the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War, during which no individual served as president. When it was resuscitated by the New York State Legislature, the university was placed directly under the control of the Board of Regents of the University of the State of New York; its chancellor, George Clinton, served as the de facto president of Columbia University.[1] Through the efforts of Alexander Hamilton and John Jay, control of the university was returned to a private board of trustees in 1787, which has to this day maintained the right to appoint or remove the president, who also serves on the board ex officio.[1] The university's first president was Samuel Johnson, who held the office from 1754 to 1763, and its current interim president is Katrina Armstrong, whose tenure began on August 14, 2024.
| President of Columbia University | |
|---|---|
| Appointer | Trustees of Columbia University in the City of New York |
| Formation | 1754 |
| First holder | Samuel Johnson |
| Website | https://president.columbia.edu/ |
Upon the founding of the university, it was stipulated by the vestrymen of Trinity Church, on whose land King's College sat, that every president must be a member of the Church of England; otherwise, the land would revert to the church.[2] As such, every single president of the university until the appointment of Dwight D. Eisenhower was Anglican, while the first six presidents, with the exception of William Samuel Johnson, were all either Anglican priests or bishops.[3] Michael I. Sovern, appointed in 1980, was the university's first Jewish president.[4] In 2023, Minouche Shafik became the first woman to serve as president of the university.[5]
From 1902 to 1970, every president was involved in foreign relations in some capacity: Nicholas Murray Butler was the president of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace from 1925 to 1945, and was awarded a Nobel Peace Prize for his promotion of the Kellogg–Briand Pact; Dwight D. Eisenhower served as Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Force during World War II, and after his tenure would serve as President of the United States; and Grayson L. Kirk and Andrew W. Cordier were both instrumental to the formation of the United Nations.
As established by Columbia University's governing statutes, it is the duty of the president to exercise jurisdiction over all affairs of the university; to call special meetings of the University Senate, faculties, and administration; to report to the Trustees of Columbia on the state and needs of the university annually; and to administer discipline. According to the university charter and statutes, the consent of the president is necessary for any act made by a faculty or administrative board, unless their veto is overridden by two-thirds vote.[1] Additionally, the president is able to grant leaves of absences, give faculty permission to use university laboratories for experiments, and confer academic and honorary degrees on behalf of the board of trustees.[1]
The president is ex officio a permanent member of the Pulitzer Prize Board, and has annually presented the awards to its recipients since 1984.[6] In addition, the president is a member of the board of trustees of Teachers College an ex officio member of the board of trustees of Barnard College.[7][8]
| # | Image | President | Birth year–Death year | Years as president | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  |
Samuel Johnson[9] | 1696–1772 | 1754–1763 | left due to economic instability at the college brought on by the French and Indian War, conflict with Presbyterians, and outbreaks of smallpox on campus |
| 2 |  |
Myles Cooper[9] | 1735–1785 | 1763–1775 | fled to England after being confronted by an angry mob and never returned to New York |
| – |  |
Benjamin Moore, B.A. 1768[9] | 1748–1816 | 1775–1776 | acting |
| – |  |
George Clinton[10] | 1739–1812 | 1784–1787 | as chancellor of the University of the State of New York; 1st governor of New York and later 4th vice president of the United States |
| 3 | .jpg) |
William Samuel Johnson[9] | 1727–1819 | 1787–1800 | signed the Constitution of the United States; served as United States Senator from Connecticut |
| 4 |  |
Charles Henry Wharton[9] | 1748–1833 | 1801–1801 | never showed up to campus and resigned within a year |
| 5 | |
Benjamin Moore, B.A. 1768[9] | 1748–1816 | 1801–1810 | 2nd bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of New York; resigned due to poor health |
| 6 |  |
William Harris[9] | 1765–1829 | 1811–1829 | shared authority with Provost John Mitchell Mason until 1816; died in office |
| 7 | .jpg) |
William Alexander Duer[9] | 1780–1858 | 1829–1842 | judge of the New York Supreme Court; resigned due to poor health |
| 8 |  |
Nathaniel Fish Moore, B.A. 1802[9] | 1782–1872 | 1842–1849 | previously first full-time librarian of the college |
| 9 |  |
Charles King[9] | 1789–1867 | 1849–1864 | presided over move to Madison Avenue campus; resigned due to poor health |
| 10 |  |
Frederick Augustus Porter Barnard[9] | 1809–1889 | 1864–1888 | died in office |
| – |  |
Henry Drisler, B.A. 1839[11] | 1818–1897 | 1867, 1888–1889 | acting |
| 11 |  |
Seth Low, B.A. 1870[9] | 1850–1916 | 1890–1901 | presided over move to Morningside Heights campus; 23rd mayor of Brooklyn; left presidency to become 92nd mayor of New York City |
| – |  |
John Howard Van Amringe, B.A. 1860, M.A. 1863[12] | 1836–1915 | 1899 | acting |
| 12 |  |
Nicholas Murray Butler, B.A. 1882, M.A. 1883, Ph.D. 1884[9] | 1862–1947 | 1902–1945 | Nobel Peace Prize laureate in 1931 |
| – |  |
Frank D. Fackenthal, B.A. 1906[9] | 1883–1968 | 1945–1948 | acting |
| 13 |  |
Dwight D. Eisenhower[9] | 1890–1969 | 1948–1953 | on leave while Supreme Allied Commander Europe of NATO; left position to become the 34th president of the United States the following day |
| 14 |  |
Grayson L. Kirk[9] | 1903–1997 | 1953–1968 | retired after 1968 protests[13] |
| 15 |  |
Andrew W. Cordier[9] | 1901–1975 | 1969–1970 | acting; took on role on a short-term permanent basis with understanding that a search would be conducted for a longer-term president |
| 16 |  |
William J. McGill[9] | 1922–1997 | 1970–1980 | retired |
| 17 | |
Michael I. Sovern, B.A. 1953, J.D. 1955[9] | 1931–2020 | 1980–1993 | retired |
| 18 | .png) |
George Erik Rupp[9] | born 1942 | 1993–2002 | retired; became president of International Rescue Committee |
| 19 |  |
Lee Bollinger, J.D. 1971[9] | born 1946 | 2002–2023 | presided over construction of Manhattanville campus; retired |
| 20 |  |
Minouche Shafik, Baroness Shafik[5] | born 1962 | 2023–2024 | resigned after the 2024 pro-Palestinian campus occupation[14] |
| – | |
Katrina Armstrong[15] | 2024– | interim |
At Columbia's midtown Manhattan campus (1857–1896), a house for the president was built in 1862 near the corner of 49th Street and Fourth Avenue (later Park Avenue), which served as the home of both Charles King and Frederick Augustus Porter Barnard. It was the president's official residence until that campus' demolition in 1897.
The current house for the president of Columbia University, located on the university's Morningside Heights campus, was built in 1912, and has served as the official residence of the university president since, with the exception of during the tenure of Michael Sovern, who chose to instead continue living in his Upper East Side apartment. The house was reoccupied upon the accession of George Rupp in 1993, and has remained in use since then.[16]
Demolition of the building was considered as late as 1991,[17] though the building underwent a comprehensive renovation in 2005.[18]
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