President of Columbia University
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/ |
The president of Columbia University is the chief officer of Columbia University in New York City. The current president is Lee Bollinger, whose tenure began in 2002.
Powers and duties
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.
The consent of the president is necessary for act of made by a faculty or administrative board, unless their veto is overridden by two-thirds vote. 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.
The president is ex officio a permanent member of the Pulitzer Prize Board, and has annually presented the awards to its recipients since 1984.
List of presidents
# | Image | President | Birth Year–Death Year | Years as President | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Samuel Johnson | 1696–1772 | 1754–1763 | ||
2 | Myles Cooper | 1735–1785 | 1763–1775 | ||
– | Benjamin Moore, B.A. 1768 | 1748–1816 | 1775–1776 | acting | |
– | George Clinton | 1739–1812 | 1784–1787 | Chancellor (Regents government); 1st Governor of New York and later 4th Vice President of the United States | |
3 | William Samuel Johnson | 1727–1819 | 1787–1800 | signed the Constitution of the United States; served as United States Senator from Connecticut | |
4 | Charles Henry Wharton | 1748–1833 | 1801–1801 | ||
5 | Benjamin Moore, B.A. 1768 | 1748–1816 | 1801–1810 | ||
6 | William Harris | 1765–1829 | 1811–1829 | shared authority with Provost John Mitchell Mason until 1816 | |
7 | William Alexander Duer | 1780–1858 | 1829–1842 | ||
8 | Nathaniel Fish Moore, B.A. 1802 | 1782–1872 | 1842–1849 | ||
9 | Charles King | 1789–1867 | 1849–1863 | presided over move to Madison Avenue campus | |
10 | Frederick Augustus Porter Barnard | 1809–1889 | 1864–1888 | ||
– | Henry Drisler, B.A. 1839 | 1818–1897 | 1867, 1888–1889 | acting | |
11 | Seth Low, B.A. 1870 | 1850–1916 | 1890–1901 | presided over move to Morningside Heights campus | |
– | John Howard Van Amringe, B.A. 1860, M.A. 1863 | 1836–1915 | 1899 | acting | |
12 | Nicholas Murray Butler, B.A. 1882, M.A. 1883, Ph.D. 1884 | 1862–1947 | 1902–1945 | Nobel Peace Prize laureate | |
– | Frank D. Fackenthal, B.A. 1906 | 1883–1968 | 1945–1948 | acting | |
13 | Dwight D. Eisenhower | 1890–1969 | 1948–1953 | on leave while Supreme Allied Commander of NATO, later 34th President of the United States | |
14 | Grayson L. Kirk | 1903–1997 | 1953–1968 | resigned after 1968 protests | |
15 | Andrew W. Cordier | 1901–1975 | 1969–1970 | ||
16 | William J. McGill | 1922–1997 | 1970–1980 | ||
17 | Michael I. Sovern, B.A. 1953, J.D. 1955 | 1931–2020 | 1980–1993 | ||
18 | George Erik Rupp | born 1942 | 1993–2002 | ||
19 | Lee C. Bollinger, J.D. 1971 | born 1946 | 2002– | presided over construction of Manhattanville campus |