List of presidents of Princeton University

Princeton University, founded in 1746 as the College of New Jersey, is a private Ivy League research university located in Princeton, New Jersey.^[1][2] The university is led by a president, who is selected by the board of trustees by ballot.^[3] The president is an ex officio member of the board and presides at its meetings.^[4] One of five officers of the university's legal corporation, the Trustees of Princeton University, the president also acts as the chief executive officer.^[3] The president is tasked with "general supervision of the interests of the University" and represents the institution in public.^[3] If the office is vacant, the board can either appoint an acting president, or the university's provost can serve in such capacity.^[3] The office was established in Princeton's original charter of 1746.^[5]

Nassau Hall houses the Office of the President.

The institution's first president was Jonathan Dickinson in 1747,^[6] and its 20th and current is Christopher Eisgruber, who was elected in 2013.^{[7][lower-alpha 1]} All of Princeton's presidents have been male besides Shirley Tilghman;^[9] all have been white.^[10] James Carnahan had the longest serving tenure at 31 years, and Jonathan Edwards had the shortest at five weeks.^[6] There have been six acting presidents,^[11] and eleven presidents who have been alumni of the university.^[10] Princeton presidents have a long association with the Presbyterian church,^[12] with every president before Woodrow Wilson in 1902 being a Presbyterian clergyman.^[13] The first nine presidents were slaveholders, with five holding slaves while living in the president's house.^[11] Thirteen of Princeton's seventeen deceased presidents are buried in President Lot of Princeton Cemetery.^[14] As of 2019^[update], the salary of the president was $944,952.^[15]

The president's official residence has changed several times over the lifespan of the university. Built in 1756, the John Maclean House, also known as the President's House, was where the president lived until Prospect House was acquired in 1878.^[16] In 1968, the official residence switched again to Walter Lowrie House.^[17] The Office of the President is housed in Nassau Hall.^[18]

Presidents

List of presidents

No.	President		Presidency	Notes	Ref.
1		Jonathan Dickinson	1747	Died shortly after entering office from a pleuritic illness[19]	[6]
2		Aaron Burr Sr.	1748–1757[lower-alpha 2]	Minister of the Presbyterian Church of Newark.[21] Father of Aaron Burr, the third Vice President of the United States.[22] Died from illness while in office.[23]	[6]
–		David Cowell	1757-1758	Served as acting president.[11]	[11]
3		Jonathan Edwards	1758	Eminent theologian to the First Great Awakening.[24][25] Died five weeks into office after a fever from a smallpox vaccine.[26]	[6]
–		Jacob Green	1758–1759	Delegate for Morris County to the Provincial Congress of New Jersey.[27] Father of Ashbel Green, 8th president of the university.[28][27] Served as acting president.[6]	[6]
4		Samuel Davies	1759–1761	Died shortly after entering office from pneumonia[29]	[6]
5		Samuel Finley	1761–1766	Founder of West Nottingham Academy;[30][31] Minister of the Cold Spring Presbyterian Church.[32] Graduate of the Log College.[33] Died while in office in Philadelphia seeking medical treatment.[34]	[6]
–		John Blair	1767–1768	Graduate of the Log College.[33] Served as acting president.[6]	[6]
6		John Witherspoon	1768–1794	Signer of the Declaration of Independence; Delegate to the Second Continental Congress; Moderator of the first General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America.[35] Died while in office.[36]	[6]
7		Samuel S. Smith	1795–1812	First president of Hampden–Sydney College.[37] College of New Jersey alumnus.[10] Resigned after pressure from the university trustees and ongoing issues with the institution.[38]	[6]
8		Ashbel Green	1812–1822	Third Chaplain of the United States House of Representatives.[39] College of New Jersey alumnus.[10] Resigned after his loss of confidence in the university trustees.[28]	[6]
–		Philip Lindsley	1822–1823	First president of the now-defunct University of Nashville.[40] College of New Jersey alumnus.[41] Served as acting president.[6]	[6]
9		James Carnahan	1823–1854	One of the founders of the Chi Phi fraternity.[42][43] College of New Jersey alumnus.[10]	[6]
10		John Maclean Jr.	1854–1868	College of New Jersey alumnus[10]	[6]
11		James McCosh	1868–1888		[6]
12		Francis L. Patton	1888–1902	Resigned after pressure from university trustees due to dissatisfaction with his lackluster administration style.[44]	[6]
13		Woodrow Wilson	1902–1910	28th President of the United States; 34th Governor of New Jersey.[45] College of New Jersey alumnus.[10]	[6]
–		John A. Stewart	1910–1912	Served as acting president[6]	[6]
14		John G. Hibben	1912–1932	College of New Jersey alumnus[10]	[6]
–		Edward D. Duffield	1932–1933	Served as acting president[6]	[6]
15		Harold W. Dodds	1933–1957	President of the National Municipal League.[46] Princeton alumnus.[10]	[6]
16		Robert F. Goheen	1957–1972	United States Ambassador to India.[47] Princeton alumnus.[10]	[6]
17		William G. Bowen	1972–1988	President of the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.[48] Princeton alumnus.[10]	[49]
18		Harold T. Shapiro	1988–2001	10th President of the University of Michigan.[50] Princeton alumnus.[10]	[49]
19		Shirley M. Tilghman	2001–2013	First female president of Princeton University[9]	[49]
20		Christopher L. Eisgruber	2013–present	Princeton alumnus[10]	[49]

See also

• List of Princeton University people
• History of Princeton University

Notes

1. Although 25 people have held the office, Princeton University does not consider acting presidents in its counting; as a result, in official releases by the university, Christopher Eisgruber is considered the 20th president.^[8]
2. Burr was formally elected president in November 1748; however, he had been in charge since Dickinson's death in October 1747.^[20]

References

Citations

1. Leitch 1978, p. 199.
2. Fiske, Edward B.; Lecuyer, Michelle (2019). Fiske Guide to Colleges 2020. Naperville: Sourcebooks. pp. 563–567. ISBN 978-1-4926-6494-9.
3. "Princeton University Bylaws" (PDF). Princeton University. May 30, 2020. Archived (PDF) from the original on July 4, 2021. Retrieved July 28, 2021.
4. "Board of Trustees". Office of the President. Princeton University. Archived from the original on July 4, 2021. Retrieved July 29, 2021.
5. Leitch 1978, p. 89.
6. Leitch 1978, p. 376.
7. "Christopher Eisgruber". The Presidents of Princeton University. Princeton University. Archived from the original on July 22, 2021. Retrieved July 29, 2021.
8. Aronson, Emily (September 22, 2013). "Eisgruber installed as president of Princeton; upholds ideal of liberal arts". Princeton University. Archived from the original on May 26, 2021. Retrieved July 29, 2021.
9. Horwitz, Stephen (June 2001). "Biologist becomes first woman to lead Princeton". Nature Medicine. 7 (6): 646. doi:10.1038/88993. ISSN 1546-170X.
10. "Presidents of Princeton". Princetoniana Museum. Princeton University. Archived from the original on July 29, 2021. Retrieved July 29, 2021.
11. Durkee 2022, p. 362.
12. Wertenbaker, Thomas J. (1998). "The College of New Jersey and the Presbyterian Church". The Journal of Presbyterian History (1997-). 76 (1). Presbyterian Historical Society: 31–35. ISSN 1521-9216. JSTOR 23335338.
13. Axtell, James (2006). The Making of Princeton University: From Woodrow Wilson to the Present. Princeton: Princeton University Press. p. 330. ISBN 978-0-691-12686-9.
14. Durkee 2022, p. 363.
15. "Trustees Of Princeton University - Nonprofit Explorer". ProPublica. 2019. Archived from the original on August 1, 2021. Retrieved August 1, 2021.
16. Leitch 1978, p. 299.
17. Leitch 1978, p. 292.
18. "About The Office". Office of the President. Princeton University. Archived from the original on June 27, 2021. Retrieved July 29, 2021.
19. Leitch 1978, p. 136.
20. Leitch 1978, p. 377.
21. Leitch 1978, p. 67.
22. Leitch 1978, p. 69.
23. Leitch 1978, p. 68.
24. Marsden, George M. (2003). Jonathan Edwards: A Life. New Haven: Yale University Press. p. 1. ISBN 978-0-300-09693-4.
25. Kidd, Thomas S. (2007). The Great Awakening: The Roots of Evangelical Christianity in Colonial America. New Haven: Yale University Press. pp. 13, 22. ISBN 978-0-300-11887-2.
26. Leitch 1978, p. 152.
27. "Guide to the Jacob Green Collection 1779-1782, ca.1900 MG 579". The New Jersey Historical Society. Archived from the original on July 28, 2021. Retrieved July 28, 2021.
28. Lewis, Robert E. (1957). "Ashbel Green, 1762–1848—Preacher, Educator, Editor". Journal of the Presbyterian Historical Society (1943-1961). 35 (3). Presbyterian Historical Society: 141–156. ISSN 0147-3735. JSTOR 23325169.
29. Leitch 1978, p. 126.
30. Sturgill, Erika Quesenbery (October 14, 2017). "The Irish roots of West Nottingham's founder". Cecil Whig. Retrieved July 28, 2021.
31. 2012 Congressional Record, Vol. 158, Page S491 (February 9, 2012).
32. "Famous Old New-Jersey Church: A Presbyterian Congregation Formed 182 Years Ago". The New York Times. May 3, 1896. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved July 28, 2021.
33. Craven, Elijah R. (June 1902). "The Log College of Neshaminy and Princeton University". Journal of the Presbyterian Historical Society (1901-1930). 1 (4). Presbyterian Historical Society: 309. JSTOR 23322482.
34. Leitch 1978, p. 181.
35. Leitch 1978, pp. 523–527.
36. Leitch 1978, p. 523.
37. "Hampden-Sydney College History". Hampden-Sydney College Archives & Special Collections. Hampden-Sydney College. Archived from the original on July 28, 2021. Retrieved July 28, 2021.
38. Leitch 1978, p. 444.
39. "History of the Chaplaincy, Office of the Chaplain". Office of the Chaplain. United States House of Representatives. Retrieved July 28, 2021.
40. Davidson, James F. (May 1964). "Philip Lindsley: The Teacher as Prophet". Peabody Journal of Education. 41 (6). Peabody College of Vanderbilt University: 327–331. doi:10.1080/01619566409537208. JSTOR 1490123.
41. Halsey, Leroy J. (1859). A Sketch of the Life and Educational Labors of Philip Lindsley, D.D., Late President of the University of Nashville. Hartford: Press of Williams, Wiley & Turner. pp. 7–8. OCLC 39536433.
42. The Chi Phi Fraternity, Centennial Memorial Volume: Commemorating the Centennial Anniversary of the Princeton Society of Chi Phi to which the Fraternity Owes Its Existence. Lancaster: Chi Phi. 1924. pp. 25–27. OCLC 2140914.
43. "About Chi Phi". Chi Phi Fraternity. Archived from the original on March 21, 2021. Retrieved July 28, 2021.
44. Leitch 1978, p. 356.
45. "Woodrow Wilson". The White House. Archived from the original on July 28, 2021. Retrieved July 28, 2021.
46. Farber, M.A. (October 26, 1980). "Harold W. Dodds, 91, Former Princeton President; A Test of Principles First Taught High School Helped Student Move". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved July 28, 2021.
47. Martin, Douglas (April 1, 2008). "Robert F. Goheen, Innovative Princeton President, Is Dead at 88". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved July 28, 2021.
48. Roberts, Sam (October 21, 2016). "William G. Bowen, Princeton Educator Who Championed Poor and Minority Students, Dies at 83". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved July 28, 2021.
49. "The Presidents of Princeton University". The Presidents of Princeton University. Princeton University. Archived from the original on July 27, 2021. Retrieved July 27, 2021.
50. Carmody, Deirdre (April 29, 1987). "Man in the News; New Head of Princeton: Dr. Harold Tafler Shapiro". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved July 28, 2021.

Works cited

• Leitch, Alexander (1978). A Princeton Companion. Princeton: Princeton University Press. ISBN 978-0-691-04654-9. JSTOR j.ctt13x0zx2.
• Durkee, Robert K. (2022). The New Princeton Companion. Princeton: Princeton University Press. doi:10.2307/j.ctv1tbhptm. ISBN 978-0-691-21044-5. JSTOR j.ctv1tbhptm. S2CID 247993945.

External links

• Official website