President of Columbia University

President of Columbia University
President of Columbia University
	Incumbent; Katrina Armstrong (interim); since August 14, 2024
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 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 interim president is Katrina Armstrong, whose tenure began on August 14, 2024.

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

List of presidents

#	President	Birth year–Death year	Years as president	Notes
1	Samuel Johnson^[9]	1696–1772	1754–1763	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	Myles Cooper^[9]	1735–1785	1763–1775	fled to England after being confronted by an angry mob and never returned to New York
–	Benjamin Moore, B.A. 1768^[9]	1748–1816	1775–1776	acting
–	George Clinton^[10]	1739–1812	1784–1787	as chancellor of the University of the State of New York; 1st governor of New York and later 4th vice president of the United States
3	William Samuel Johnson^[9]	1727–1819	1787–1800	signed the Constitution of the United States; served as United States Senator from Connecticut
4	Charles Henry Wharton^[9]	1748–1833	1801–1801	never showed up to campus and resigned within a year
5	Benjamin Moore, B.A. 1768^[9]	1748–1816	1801–1810	2nd bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of New York; resigned due to poor health
6	William Harris^[9]	1765–1829	1811–1829	shared authority with Provost John Mitchell Mason until 1816; died in office
7	William Alexander Duer^[9]	1780–1858	1829–1842	judge of the New York Supreme Court; resigned due to poor health
8	Nathaniel Fish Moore, B.A. 1802^[9]	1782–1872	1842–1849	previously first full-time librarian of the college
9	Charles King^[9]	1789–1867	1849–1864	presided over move to Madison Avenue campus; resigned due to poor health
10	Frederick Augustus Porter Barnard^[9]	1809–1889	1864–1888	died in office
–	Henry Drisler, B.A. 1839^[11]	1818–1897	1867, 1888–1889	acting
11	Seth Low, B.A. 1870^[9]	1850–1916	1890–1901	presided over move to Morningside Heights campus; 23rd mayor of Brooklyn; left presidency to become 92nd mayor of New York City
–	John Howard Van Amringe, B.A. 1860, M.A. 1863^[12]	1836–1915	1899	acting
12	Nicholas Murray Butler, B.A. 1882, M.A. 1883, Ph.D. 1884^[9]	1862–1947	1902–1945	Nobel Peace Prize laureate in 1931
–	Frank D. Fackenthal, B.A. 1906^[9]	1883–1968	1945–1948	acting
13	Dwight D. Eisenhower^[9]	1890–1969	1948–1953	on leave while Supreme Allied Commander Europe of NATO; left position to become the 34th president of the United States the following day
14	Grayson L. Kirk^[9]	1903–1997	1953–1968	retired after 1968 protests^[13]
15	Andrew W. Cordier^[9]	1901–1975	1969–1970	acting; took on role on a short-term permanent basis with understanding that a search would be conducted for a longer-term president
16	William J. McGill^[9]	1922–1997	1970–1980	retired
17	Michael I. Sovern, B.A. 1953, J.D. 1955^[9]	1931–2020	1980–1993	retired
18	George Erik Rupp^[9]	born 1942	1993–2002	retired; became president of International Rescue Committee
19	Lee Bollinger, J.D. 1971^[9]	born 1946	2002–2023	presided over construction of Manhattanville campus; retired
20	Minouche Shafik, Baroness Shafik^[5]	born 1962	2023–2024	resigned after the 2024 pro-Palestinian campus occupation^[14]
–	Katrina Armstrong^[15]		2024–	interim

President's House

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.^[16]

Demolition of the building was considered as late as 1991,^[17] though the building underwent a comprehensive renovation in 2005.^[18]