List of presidents of Dartmouth College

Heads of Dartmouth College From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Dartmouth College is a private Ivy League research university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. It was founded in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, a Yale graduate and Congregational minister, through a royal charter issued by John Wentworth in the name of King George III.[1][2] The charter created a college for the education of Native Americans and others in the "liberal arts and sciences", connecting it to Wheelock's earlier Charity School.[1] Named for William Legge, 2nd Earl of Dartmouth, the institution is the ninth oldest college in the United States and the last founded under colonial rule.[1][3]

AppointerBoard of Trustees
Term lengthNo term limit
Inaugural holderEleazar Wheelock
FormationDecember 13, 1769
(256 years ago) (1769-12-13)
Quick facts President of Dartmouth College, Appointer ...
President of Dartmouth College
Incumbent
Sian Beilock
since June 12, 2023
AppointerBoard of Trustees
Term lengthNo term limit
Inaugural holderEleazar Wheelock
FormationDecember 13, 1769
(256 years ago) (1769-12-13)
Websitepresident.dartmouth.edu
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The president of Dartmouth College is the institution's chief executive officer and chief adviser to the Board of Trustees. Under the Board's bylaws, the president has "general charge and control of the College and its affairs," including the organization of the faculties; responsibility for the conduct of educational and administrative operations and internal discipline; authority to execute instruments on the college's behalf; and the power to appoint and remove officers and administrators consistent with Board policies. The president serves as a trustee ex officio and is a voting member of the Board's executive committee, and an ex officio non-voting member of its other standing committees, with recusals required when the Board considers presidential compensation or performance. In the event of the president's death, absence, or disability, the Board may designate an interim president and define the scope of interim authority.[4]

The college's 1769 charter vests governance in the "Trustees of Dartmouth College", authorizing them to elect officers, grant degrees, and "displace and remove" officers as necessary; in modern practice, degrees approved by the Trustees are conferred by the president at commencement.[4][5] Dartmouth's status as a private corporation governed by its Board, and the inviolability of its charter, were affirmed by the United States Supreme Court in Dartmouth College v. Woodward (1819).[6][7]

Since 1769, nineteen individuals have held the office, a line known as the "Wheelock Succession".[8] The current president, Sian Beilock, was elected by the Board on July 21, 2022, took office on June 12, and was inaugurated on September 22, 2023, becoming the first woman to lead Dartmouth.[9][10][11]

Presidents

The following persons have served as president of Dartmouth College:[8]

More information No., Image ...
Presidents
No. Image Name Class Term start Term end Ref.
1 Portrait of Eleazar Wheelock in 18th-century attire sitting in a room with books in the background. Eleazar Wheelock[a] – 1769 1779 [12][13]
2 Portrait of John Wheelock in 18th-century attire, wearing a white wig and a brown coat over a buttoned waistcoat. John Wheelock 1771 1779 1815 [12][14]
3 Portrait of Francis Brown in 19th-century attire, seated with one arm resting on a chair. Francis Brown 1805 1815 1820 [12][15]
4 Black and white portrait of Daniel Dana, with glasses and combed-back hair, wearing a high-collared coat. Daniel Dana 1788 1820 1821 [12][16]
5 Daguerreotype of Bennet Tyler seated in an ornate chair beside a table with an open book, with a column in the background. Bennet Tyler – 1822 1828 [12][17]
6 Portrait of Nathan Lord with glasses, wearing a dark coat and white cravat. Nathan Lord – 1828 1863 [12][18]
7 Black and white portrait of Asa Dodge Smith with glasses, wearing a suit and bow tie. Asa Dodge Smith 1830 1863 1877 [12][19]
8 Black and white photograph of Samuel Colcord Bartlett with a beard and a bald head, wearing a suit and high-collared shirt. Samuel Colcord Bartlett 1836 1877 1892 [12][20]
9 Black and white photograph of William Jewett Tucker with a mustache, wearing a suit and high-collared shirt. William Jewett Tucker 1861 1893 1909 [12][21]
10 Black and white photograph of Ernest Fox Nichols from a side view, with short hair, wearing a suit and tie. Ernest Fox Nichols[b] – 1909 1916 [12][22]
11 Black and white photograph of Ernest Martin Hopkins with short hair, wearing a suit, tie, and collared shirt. Ernest Martin Hopkins 1901 1916 1945 [12][23]
12 Black and white photograph of John Dickey in a suit seated at a desk, writing on papers, with office furniture and a window in the background. John Sloan Dickey 1929 1945 1970 [12][24]
13 John George Kemeny[c] – 1970 1981 [12][25]
14 David T. McLaughlin[d] 1954 1981 1987 [12][26]
15 James O. Freedman – 1987 1998 [12][27]
16 James Wright[e] – 1998 June 30, 2009 [12][28]
17 Photograph of Jim Yong Kim in a suit and patterned green tie, wearing glasses and smiling. Jim Yong Kim[f] – July 1, 2009 June 30, 2012[g] [12][29]
acting Carol Folt – July 1, 2012 June 30, 2013 [30]
18 Photograph of Phillip J. Hanlon in a suit and red tie, wearing glasses and speaking at a microphone. Philip J. Hanlon[h] 1977 July 1, 2013 June 11, 2023 [12][31][32]
19 Photograph of Sian Beilock wearing a green jacket and smiling. Sian Beilock – June 12, 2023 present [12][33][34]
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Notes

  1. [a]
    President and founder of Dartmouth College
  2. [b]
    Professor of Physics (1898–1903)
  3. [c]
    Professor of Mathematics
  4. [d]
    Member of the Board of Trustees
  5. [e]
    Dean of the Faculty; Professor of History
  6. [f]
    Department of Anthropology faculty
  7. [g]
    Resigned to lead the World Bank.
  8. [h]
    Lewis Professor of Mathematics

References

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