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List of presidents of Pennsylvania State University

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The President of the Pennsylvania State University is the chief administrator of the Pennsylvania State University, serving as chief executive officer of the institution and an ex officio member of the 32-member Penn State Board of Trustees. Included in the list below are all Presidents of the Pennsylvania State University and its precursor institutions, from the first President Evan Pugh and through the current President, Neeli Bendapudi. There have been 19 Presidents of the Pennsylvania State University, not including three interregnum presidencies during university presidential transitions.

Old Main at Penn State, the administrative center of the university, contains the Office of the President.

Pennsylvania's only land-grant university, the Pennsylvania State University was established in 1855[1] as the Farmers' High School of Pennsylvania, before becoming the Agricultural College of Pennsylvania in 1863 under University President Evan Pugh, the Pennsylvania State College under James Calder in 1874 and, finally, the Pennsylvania State University under Milton S. Eisenhower in 1953. Today, the university is part of the Commonwealth System of Higher Education and is one of the largest universities in the United States.

List of presidents

The following persons have served as president of Pennsylvania State University:[2]

More information No., President ...
No. President Term start Term end Ref.
President of Farmer's High School of Pennsylvania (1855–1862)
1Evan Pugh [a]
(1828–1864)		1859April 29, 1864[b][3][4]
Presidents of Agricultural College of Pennsylvania (1862–1874)
2William Henry Allen
(1808–1882)		18641866[5][6]
3John Fraser
(c. 1823–1878)		18661868[7][8]
4Thomas Henry Burrowes
(1805–1871)
1868February 25, 1871[b][9]
Presidents of Pennsylvania State College (1874–1953)
5James Calder
(1826–1893)		18711880[10][11]
6Joseph Shortlidge
(1832–1911)		18801881[12]
actingJames Y. McKee
(1836–1891)		18811882[13][14][15]
7George W. Atherton [c]
(1837–1906)
1882July 24, 1906[b]

[16][17][18]

actingJames A. Beaver
(1837–1914)		19061908[19][20]
8Edwin Erle Sparks
(1860–1924)
19081920[21][22]
9John Martin Thomas
(1869–1952)		19211925[23][24]
10Ralph D. Hetzel
(1882–1947)		1927October 3, 1947[b][25][26]
actingJames Milholland
(1887–1956)		19471950[27][28][29][30]
Presidents of Pennsylvania State University (1953–present)
11Milton S. Eisenhower
(1899–1985)		19501956[31][32]
12Eric A. Walker
(1910–1995)		19561970[33][34]
13John W. Oswald
(1917–1995)		1970June 30, 1983[35][36][37]
14Bryce Jordan
(1924–2016)		July 1, 1983August 31, 1990[38][39][40][41]
15Joab Thomas
(1933–2014)		September 1, 1990August 31, 1995[42][43]
16Graham Spanier
(born 1948)		September 1, 1995November 9, 2011[d][44][45][46]
interim Rodney Erickson
(born 1946)		 November 9, 2011 November 17, 2011 [46]
17 November 17, 2011 May 11, 2014 [47][48][49]
18Eric J. Barron
(born 1951)		May 12, 2014May 8, 2022[50][51][52][53]
19Neeli Bendapudi
(born 1962/63)		May 9, 2022present[54][55]
Close

Table notes:

  1. [a]
    In the shadow of the Civil War, Evan Pugh became the first president of the then Farmers' High School. On May 2, 1862 Pugh had the name Farmers' High School changed to the Agricultural College of Pennsylvania.
  2. [b]
    Died in office.
  3. [c]
    Often called the "second founder" of the university.
  4. [d]
    Forced to resign for mishandling child abuse sex scandal case.

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