William C. Roberts (pastor)

The Reverend William C. Roberts
Roberts c. 1903
9th President of Centre College
In office June 8, 1898 – November 27, 1903
Preceded by	William C. Young
Succeeded by	Frederick W. Hinitt
3rd President of Lake Forest University
In office c. October 1886 – February 26, 1892
Preceded by	Daniel Gregory
Succeeded by	John Merle Coulter
Personal details
Born	(1832-09-22)September 22, 1832 Aberystwyth, Wales
Died	November 27, 1903(1903-11-27) (aged 71) Danville, Kentucky, U.S.
Resting place	Evergreen Cemetery
Spouse	Mary Louise Fuller ​ (m. 1858)​
Education	Princeton University Princeton Theological Seminary

William Charles Roberts (September 22, 1832 – November 27, 1903) was an American pastor and academic administrator. A graduate of Princeton University and Princeton Theological Seminary, he began his ministerial career at a Presbyterian church in Wilmington, Delaware. He spent nearly two years pastoring in Columbus, Ohio, before his wife developed an illness and the couple were forced to return to her home state of New Jersey, where Roberts continued preaching. He led churches in Elizabeth, New Jersey, for the following eighteen years before a four-year stint with the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America (PCUSA) Board of Home Missions. He then was elected president of Lake Forest College in Lake Forest, Illinois, where he stayed for six years. During this period, he was elected moderator of the PCUSA General Assembly. After six more years working for the PCUSA, Roberts accepted the presidency of Centre College, in Danville, Kentucky, in 1898. He spent five years leading Centre before dying in office in November 1903; he presided over Centre's 1901 merger with Central University in Richmond, Kentucky, and finished his term as president of the consolidated Central University of Kentucky.