List of presidents of Centre College
Head of Centre College
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Centre College is a private liberal arts college located in Danville, Kentucky, United States. It was founded by leaders of the Presbyterian Church, an affiliation it still loosely maintains, and was formally chartered by the Kentucky General Assembly on January 21, 1819. Isaac Shelby, the former governor of Kentucky, chaired the school's first board of trustees, which met for the first time in February 1819.[2] Centre's first president was James McChord; although he died two months after his election before actually having taken the role, he is still recognized as the school's first leader.[3] In the college's early years, the president was paid $1,000 annually (equivalent to $23,000 in 2025) and taught several courses.[4] For much of the school's history, the college required its president and most of its board members to be Presbyterian. Originally on a de facto basis, this requirement was formalized in 1921 under William Arthur Ganfield and remained until 1969,[5][6] one year after Centre withdrew from the Kentucky Synod,[7] during the tenure of Thomas A. Spragens.[6]
The close relationship with the church is evident in Centre's history, as Spragens, the school's seventeenth president, was the first who was not a member of the clergy; even then, he was a Presbyterian elder from age 29.[7] Fourteen of the school's first sixteen presidents were Presbyterian ministers (only Ormond Beatty and Charles J. Turck were laymen),[8][9] though none since Spragens have been.[10] Michael F. Adams was the first who was not Presbyterian.[11] Four presidents—John C. Young, William L. Breckinridge, William C. Young, and William C. Roberts—held positions as moderator of the General Assembly in the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America.[12][13][14][15] Five Centre presidents have died in office: both Youngs, who were father and son, McChord, Roberts, and Lewis W. Green.[3][16][17][18] Green was one of two members of Centre's first graduating class in 1824[19] and was the first Centre alumnus to become president; he has since been joined by Beatty (class of 1835),[20] William C. Young (1859),[16] and Robert J. McMullen (1905).[21]
John C. Young, who held office for nearly 27 years, is the longest-serving president in Centre's history. Spragens, who held the position for 24 years, and John A. Roush, who held it for 22 years, had the next-longest tenures in office.[22] The 21st and current president of Centre College is Milton C. Moreland, who has held office since July 1, 2020. He is an archaeologist by training and was formerly the provost and vice president for academic affairs at Rhodes College. In 2025, the president was the highest-paid employee at the school, with a total salary of $519,977.[23]
Craik House has been the residence of the college president for most of the time since the school bought the house in 1937.[24][25] Originally built in 1853, the Italianate-style home was first owned by William Moore, a Danville farmer, and later by George Welsh, a merchant and member of Centre's board of trustees.[24] When the college purchased the house using funds from a donation given by Henry Nelson Craik, an 1890 Centre graduate, the building was renamed for him.[25] President Robert L. McLeod was the first to occupy the house,[24] but during the 1940s consultants recommended the house be abandoned due to obsolete utilities and the inadequacy of its layout for hosting large receptions. For about ten years thereafter, the house was unused, until it was renovated in 1958 in preparation for the arrival of President Spragens to once again serve as the president's home.[25] It underwent further renovations in 1982 and 2021.[26][27] From 1831 to 1937, all presidents from John C. Young to Turck lived in Hillcrest House during their presidencies.[28] Hillcrest later served as a faculty residence, a student residence, and an academic building for various periods before being demolished in 1969.[28][29]
Presidents
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| No. | Name | Term in office | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rev. James McChord | 1820[a] | Founder of Second Presbyterian Church (Lexington, Kentucky);[30] died before officially assuming the presidency, but still considered the first president | [3] |
| 2 | Rev. Jeremiah Chamberlain | 1823 – 1826 | President of the College of Louisiana (1826–1828);[31] founding president of Oakland College (1830–1851)[32] | [33] |
| 3 | Rev. Gideon Blackburn | 1827 – 1830 | [34] | |
| 4 | Rev. John C. Young | 1830 – 1857[a] | Pastor of Danville Presbyterian Church (1834–1852);[35] moderator of the PCUSA General Assembly (1853);[12] Centre's longest-serving president[22] | [36] |
| 5 | Rev. Lewis W. Green | 1858 – 1863[a] | Centre alumnus (1824);[19] president of Hampden–Sydney College (1848–1856);[37] president of Transylvania University (1856–1857)[38] | [39] |
| 6 | Rev. William L. Breckinridge | 1863 – 1868 | Moderator of the PCUSA General Assembly (1859);[13] president of Oakland College (1860–1861)[40] | [41] |
| 7 | Ormond Beatty | 1870 – 1888 | Centre alumnus (1835);[20] the first Centre president who was not a minister[8] | [42] |
| 8 | Rev. William C. Young | 1888 – 1896[a] | Centre alumnus (1859);[16] moderator of the PCUSA General Assembly (1892);[14] son of fourth president John C. Young[16] | [43] |
| 9 | Rev. William C. Roberts | 1898 – 1903[a] | President of Lake Forest University (1886–1892);[44] moderator of the PCUSA General Assembly (1889)[15] | [18] |
| 10 | Rev. Frederick W. Hinitt | 1904 – 1915 | President of Parsons College (1900–1904);[45] president of Washington & Jefferson University (1915–1918)[46] | [47] |
| 11 | Rev. William Arthur Ganfield | 1915 – 1921 | President of Carroll College (1921–1939)[48] | [49] |
| 12 | Rev. R. Ames Montgomery | 1922 – 1926 | President of Parsons College (1917–1922)[50] | [51] |
| 13 | Charles J. Turck | 1927 – 1936 | President of Macalester College (1939–1958)[52] | [53] |
| 14 | Rev. Robert L. McLeod | 1938 – 1945[b] | [55] | |
| 15 | Rev. Robert J. McMullen | 1944 – 1946[b] | Centre alumnus (1905);[21] president of Hangchow Christian College (1938–1942)[56] | [21] |
| 16 | Rev. Walter A. Groves | 1947 – 1957 | President of Abadan Institute of Technology (1957–1961)[57] | [58] |
| 17 | Thomas A. Spragens | 1957 – 1981 | President of Stephens College (1952–1957)[59] | [59] |
| 18 | Richard L. Morrill | 1982 – 1988 | President of Salem College (1979–1982);[60] president of the University of Richmond (1988–1998)[61] | [62] |
| 19 | Michael F. Adams | 1989 – 1997 | President of the University of Georgia (1997–2013)[63] | [64][65] |
| 20 | John A. Roush | 1998 – 2020 | [66] | |
| 21 | Milton C. Moreland | 2020 – present | [67] |
Notes
- Died in office
- Robert L. McLeod and Robert J. McMullen served as co-presidents from September 1944 to November 1945 while McLeod was on a leave of absence serving as a chaplain in the United States Navy.[54]
