President of Columbia University

President of Columbia University
Incumbent
Claire Shipman (acting)
since March 28, 2025 (2025-03-28)
AppointerTrustees of Columbia University in the City of New York
Formation1754
First holderSamuel Johnson
Websitehttps://president.columbia.edu/

The president of Columbia University is the chief executive 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 acting president is Claire Shipman, whose tenure began on March 28, 2025.

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 and an ex officio member of the board of trustees of Barnard College.[7][8]

List of presidents

The following persons have served as president of Columbia University:[9]

No. Image President Term start Term end Refs.
Presidents of King's College (1754–1784)
1 Samuel Johnson[a] 1754 1763 [10]
2 Myles Cooper[b] 1763 May 1775 [11]
acting[c] Benjamin Moore, BA 1768 1775 1776 [12]
Presidents of Columbia College (1784–1896)
acting[d] George Clinton[e] 1784 1787 [13]
3 William Samuel Johnson[f] 1787 1800 [14]
4 Charles Henry Wharton[g] May 25, 1801 December 11, 1801 [15]
5 Benjamin Moore, BA 1768[h] December 31, 1801 May 6, 1811 [16]
6 William Harris[i] 1811 October 18, 1829[j] [17]
7 William Alexander Duer[k] 1829 1842 [18]
8 Nathaniel Fish Moore, BA 1802[l] 1842 1849 [19]
9 Charles King[m] 1849 1864 [20]
10 Frederick Augustus Porter Barnard 1864 April 27, 1889[j] [21]
acting Henry Drisler, BA 1839 1867 1867 [22]
1888 1889
11 Seth Low, BA 1870[n] 1890 1901[o] [23]
Presidents of Columbia University (1896–present)
acting John Howard Van Amringe, BA 1860, MA 1863 1899 1899 [24]
12 Nicholas Murray Butler, BA 1882, MA 1883, PhD 1884[p] 1902 September 30, 1945 [25][26]
acting Frank D. Fackenthal, BA 1906 October 4, 1945 June 6, 1948 [27]
13 Dwight D. Eisenhower[q] June 7, 1948 January 19, 1953[r] [28][29]
acting[s] Grayson L. Kirk[t] December 19, 1950 January 19, 1953 [30][31]
14 January 20, 1953 August 23, 1968 [32][33][34]
acting Andrew W. Cordier August 23, 1968 August 20, 1969 [35]
15 August 20, 1969 August 31, 1970 [36]
16 William J. McGill September 1, 1970 June 30, 1980 [37]
17 Michael I. Sovern, BA 1953, JD 1955 July 1, 1980 June 30, 1993 [38][39]
18 George Erik Rupp July 1, 1993 June 30, 2002[u] [40][41]
19 Lee Bollinger, JD 1971[v] July 1, 2002 June 30, 2023 [42][43][44]
20 Minouche Shafik, Baroness Shafik July 1, 2023 August 14, 2024[w] [45][5][46][47]
acting[x] Katrina Armstrong August 14, 2024 March 28, 2025 [48][49]
acting Claire Shipman, BA 1986, MIA 1994 March 28, 2025 present [50][51][52]
designate Jennifer Mnookin Starting July 1, 2026 [53]

Table notes:

  1. ^ 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. ^ fled to England after being confronted by an angry mob and never returned to New York
  3. ^ appointed president pro tempore
  4. ^ as Chancellor of the University of the State of New York
  5. ^ 1st governor of New York and later 4th vice president of the United States
  6. ^ signed the Constitution of the United States; served as United States Senator from Connecticut
  7. ^ never showed up to campus and resigned within a year
  8. ^ 2nd bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of New York; resigned due to poor health
  9. ^ shared authority with Provost John Mitchell Mason until 1816
  10. ^ a b died in office
  11. ^ judge of the New York Supreme Court; resigned due to poor health
  12. ^ previously first full-time librarian of the college
  13. ^ presided over move to Madison Avenue campus; resigned due to poor health
  14. ^ presided over move to Morningside Heights campus; 23rd mayor of Brooklyn
  15. ^ resigned to become 92nd mayor of New York City
  16. ^ Nobel Peace Prize laureate in 1931
  17. ^ on leave while Supreme Allied Commander Europe of NATO
  18. ^ resigned to become the 34th president of the United States the following day
  19. ^ Kirk became acting head of the university when Eisenhower was recalled to duty to head American and NATO forces in Europe during the Korean War. Kirk remained as acting head when Eisenhower became a candidate for the U.S. presidency in 1952.
  20. ^ retired after 1968 protests
  21. ^ became president of International Rescue Committee
  22. ^ presided over construction of Manhattanville campus
  23. ^ resigned after the 2024 pro-Palestinian campus occupation and returned to England
  24. ^ Chief executive officer of the Columbia University Irving Medical Center

President's House

Main article: President's House (Columbia University)
The President's House (1862–1897) at Columbia's Midtown campus

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.[54]

Demolition of the building was considered as late as 1991,[55] though the building underwent a comprehensive renovation in 2005.[56]

References

  1. ^ a b c d "Charters and Statutes" (PDF). secretary.columbia.edu. January 2022. Archived (PDF) from the original on February 5, 2023. Retrieved June 9, 2023.
  2. ^ McCaughey, Robert (October 22, 2003). Stand, Columbia: A History of Columbia University. Columbia University Press. p. 20. ISBN 978-0-231-50355-6.
  3. ^ McCaughey, Robert A. (2003). Stand, Columbia : a History of Columbia University in the City of New York, 1754-2004. Columbia University Press. ISBN 978-0-231-13008-0.
  4. ^ "Michael I. Sovern". library.columbia.edu. Archived from the original on June 28, 2022. Retrieved June 28, 2022.
  5. ^ a b "Columbia Hires First Female Leader as Shafik Succeeds Bollinger". Bloomberg.com. January 18, 2023. Archived from the original on January 18, 2023. Retrieved January 18, 2023.
  6. ^ Topping, Seymour. "Administration of the Prizes". www.pulitzer.org. Archived from the original on April 15, 2016. Retrieved July 3, 2021.
  7. ^ "Charters and Statutes | Office of the Provost". provost.columbia.edu. Retrieved July 3, 2023.
  8. ^ "Trustees | About | Teachers College, Columbia University". Teachers College - Columbia University. Retrieved May 20, 2024.
  9. ^ "Columbia University President Profiles". Columbia University Libraries. Columbia University.
  10. ^ "Samuel Johnson". Columbia University.
  11. ^ "Myles Cooper". Columbia University.
  12. ^ "Benjamin Moore". Columbia University.
  13. ^ "Founders Online: From Alexander Hamilton to George Clinton, [26 November 1784–1 …". founders.archives.gov. Archived from the original on June 30, 2021. Retrieved June 18, 2021.
  14. ^ "William Samuel Johnson". Columbia University.
  15. ^ "Charles H. Wharton". Columbia University.
  16. ^ "Benjamin Moore". Columbia University.
  17. ^ "William Harris". Columbia University.
  18. ^ "William Alexander Duer". Columbia University.
  19. ^ "Nathaniel Fish Moore". Columbia University.
  20. ^ "Charles King". Columbia University.
  21. ^ "Frederick A. P. Barnard". Columbia University.
  22. ^ "Columbia's Deans". Columbia Daily Spectator. January 25, 1916. Archived from the original on June 27, 2021. Retrieved June 27, 2021.
  23. ^ "Seth Low". Columbia University.
  24. ^ University, Columbia (1904). A History of Columbia University, 1754-1904. Columbia University Press, The Macmillan Company, agents. Archived from the original on April 25, 2022. Retrieved June 9, 2023.
  25. ^ "Nicholas Murray Butler". Columbia University.
  26. ^ "Butler Resigns To Assume Emeritus Position On Oct. 1". Columbia Daily Spectator. April 27, 1945. p. 1. Dr. Nicholas Murray Butler, president of Columbia University, submitted his resignation from his present office to the board of trustees of the University last Monday, April 23, to become effective Oct. 1, at which time he is to become president emeritus of Columbia, remaining active for the University in a public relations capacity.
  27. ^ "Trustees Name Acting President of Columbia". Columbia Daily Spectator. October 5, 1945. p. 1. Dr. Frank Diehl Fackenthal, provost of the University, has been chosen as Acting President of Columbia University and will continue to fill this post until a permanent president can be elected and installed.
  28. ^ "Dwight D. Eisenhower". Columbia University.
  29. ^ "Eisenhower Will Assume Presidency Next June". Columbia Daily Spectator. December 10, 1947. p. 1. General of the Armies Dwight D. Eisenhower, whose "great ability and remarkable character in dealing with world problems" were to the late Nicholas Murray Butler "precisely what the world needs today in the administration of a great university," will take over active leadership of Columbia University next June. The Army Chief of Staff notified the Board of Trustees that he will take up residence in the President's House, 60 Morningside Drive, about the first of May, but will not assume his new duties until June 7, shortly after the spring commencement.
  30. ^ "Administrator Rose Rapidly At University". Columbia Daily Spectator. December 20, 1950. p. 1. Dr. Grayson L. Kirk, Vice Prescient and Provost of the University, will assume the duties of the President, now that General Eisenhower has been called back to active military duty, but will retain his old titles, it was disclosed yesterday.
  31. ^ "Ike Called Home For Official Talks". Columbia Daily Spectator. November 2, 1951. p. 1. Grayson Kirk, Vice-President and acting head of the University, was quoted by his secretary as saying, "I have no information at the present time as to General Eisenhower's plans for his stay in the United States." This will be the first time that General Eisenhower has been in the United States since he went to Europe on Feb. 21 to assume command of the Allied Armies in Europe. He has been staying at the headquarters of his command which have been set up outside of Paris. Eisenhower Now on Leave General Eisenhower has been on an indefinite leave of absence from his post of President of Columbia University since Dec. 19, 1950, when his appointment as Supreme Commander was made public. Grayson L. Kirk, then Vice-President and Provost of the University, was named by the Trustees as acting head of Columbia. The last time General Eisenhower was at Columbia was on Feb. 5
  32. ^ Operations, United States Congress Senate Committee on Government (1969). Hearings, Reports and Prints of the Senate Committee on Government Operations. U.S. Government Printing Office.
  33. ^ "Grayson Kirk". Columbia University.
  34. ^ "Ike Congratulates Dr. Kirk". Columbia Daily Spectator. January 7, 1953. p. 1, 4. Dr. Kirk, who has been the acting head of the University for some time, officially becomes Columbia's 14th President on January 20, when the resignation of President-elect Eisenhower becomes effective.
  35. ^ "Cordier Replaces Kirk; Barrett, Piatt Leave; Name Hovde Dean". Columbia Daily Spectator. September 18, 1968. p. 1. August 23, four months to the day that Hamilton Hall was occupied, Dr. Kirk appeared at a press conference in the faded main lounge of the Columbia Club alongside Chairman of the Trustees William Petersen who announced Dr. Kirk's retirement after seventeen years as President of the University.
  36. ^ "Andrew W. Cordier". Columbia University.
  37. ^ "William J. McGill". Columbia University.
  38. ^ "Michael I. Sovern". Columbia University.
  39. ^ "A NEW PRESIDENT". Columbia University Record. January 15, 1980. p. 1. Michael Sovern will become Columbia's 17th president July 1.
  40. ^ "George Rupp". Columbia University.
  41. ^ "Rupp Is Elected President of Columbia". Columbia University Record. February 5, 1993. p. 1. President George Rupp, the president of Rice University, Monday was elected the 18th president of Columbia University... Rupp will succeed Michael I. Sovern on July 1, 1993. Sovern announced last June that he would retire June 30, 1993, after 13 years as president to return to teaching law and to spend more time with his wife, Joan, who is battling cancer.
  42. ^ "Lee C. Bollinger". Columbia University.
  43. ^ "Lee Bollinger Named Columbia's 19th President". Columbia Magazine. Fall 2001. Lee Carroll Bollinger '71L, president of the University of Michigan since 1997, has been named George Rupp's successor as head of Columbia effective July 1, 2002.
  44. ^ "President Bollinger to Step Down in 2023". Columbia University. April 14, 2022.
  45. ^ "Minouche Shafik". Columbia University.
  46. ^ "Columbia President Minouche Shafik Resigns Months After Anti-Israel Protests: Report". Times Now. August 15, 2024. Retrieved August 15, 2024.
  47. ^ "Minouche Shafik hired by UK government after resigning from Columbia in wake of Gaza protests". Middle East Eye. Retrieved December 30, 2024.
  48. ^ "About Interim President Katrina Armstrong". Columbia University. Archived from the original on December 11, 2024.
  49. ^ Huddleston, Sarah; Vance, Shea (August 14, 2024). "Shafik resigns from presidency". Columbia Daily Spectator. Retrieved August 15, 2024.
  50. ^ "About Acting President Claire Shipman". Columbia University.
  51. ^ "Columbia's president steps aside for new leadership at embattled university". The Guardian. March 29, 2025. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved March 29, 2025.
  52. ^ Banerjee, Isha (March 28, 2025). "Armstrong steps down as interim Columbia president, Shipman assumes presidency". Columbia Daily Spectator.
  53. ^ "Columbia University Names Jennifer L. Mnookin President-Designate". Columbia University. January 25, 2026.
  54. ^ Mirvis, Tova (February 5, 1993). "Rupp to occupy President's House". Retrieved August 14, 2024.
  55. ^ Gray, Christopher (May 12, 1991). "Streetscapes: The Columbia President's House; An Elegant 1912 Home With a Vacancy Sign Out". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved February 19, 2024.
  56. ^ "President's House | Design and Construction". designconstruct.cufo.columbia.edu. Retrieved February 19, 2024.
allikas: Https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_presidents_of_Columbia_University