List of presidents of Princeton University

The back of Nassau Hall, with Cannon Green in the foreground
Nassau Hall houses the Office of the President.

Princeton University, founded in 1746 as the College of New Jersey, is a private Ivy League research university located in Princeton, New Jersey.[1][2] The university is led by a president, who is selected by the board of trustees by ballot.[3] The president is an ex officio member of the board and presides at its meetings.[4] One of five officers of the university's legal corporation, the Trustees of Princeton University, the president also acts as the chief executive officer.[3] The president is tasked with "general supervision of the interests of the University" and represents the institution in public.[3] If the office is vacant, the board can either appoint an acting president, or the university's provost can serve in such capacity.[3] The office was established in Princeton's original charter of 1746.[5]

The institution's first president was Jonathan Dickinson in 1747,[6] and its 20th and current is Christopher Eisgruber, who was elected in 2013.[7][a] All of Princeton's presidents have been male besides Shirley Tilghman;[9] all have been white.[10] James Carnahan had the longest serving tenure at 31 years, and Jonathan Edwards had the shortest at five weeks.[6] There have been six acting presidents,[11] and eleven presidents who have been alumni of the university.[10] Princeton presidents have a long association with the Presbyterian church,[12] with every president before Woodrow Wilson in 1902 being a Presbyterian clergyman.[13] The first nine presidents were slaveholders, with five holding slaves while living in the president's house.[11] Thirteen of Princeton's seventeen deceased presidents are buried in President Lot of Princeton Cemetery.[14] As of 2019, the salary of the president was $944,952.[15]

The president's official residence has changed several times over the lifespan of the university. Built in 1756, the John Maclean House, also known as the President's House, was where the president lived until Prospect House was acquired in 1878.[16] In 1968, the official residence switched again to Walter Lowrie House.[17] The Office of the President is housed in Nassau Hall.[18]

  1. ^ Leitch 1978, p. 199.
  2. ^ Fiske, Edward B.; Lecuyer, Michelle (2019). Fiske Guide to Colleges 2020. Naperville: Sourcebooks. pp. 563–567. ISBN 978-1-4926-6494-9.
  3. ^ a b c d "Princeton University Bylaws" (PDF). Princeton University. May 30, 2020. Archived (PDF) from the original on July 4, 2021. Retrieved July 28, 2021.
  4. ^ "Board of Trustees". Office of the President. Princeton University. Archived from the original on July 4, 2021. Retrieved July 29, 2021.
  5. ^ Leitch 1978, p. 89.
  6. ^ a b Leitch 1978, p. 376.
  7. ^ "Christopher Eisgruber". The Presidents of Princeton University. Princeton University. Archived from the original on July 22, 2021. Retrieved July 29, 2021.
  8. ^ Aronson, Emily (September 22, 2013). "Eisgruber installed as president of Princeton; upholds ideal of liberal arts". Princeton University. Archived from the original on May 26, 2021. Retrieved July 29, 2021.
  9. ^ Horwitz, Stephen (June 2001). "Biologist becomes first woman to lead Princeton". Nature Medicine. 7 (6): 646. doi:10.1038/88993. ISSN 1546-170X.
  10. ^ a b "Presidents of Princeton". Princetoniana Museum. Princeton University. Archived from the original on July 29, 2021. Retrieved July 29, 2021.
  11. ^ a b Durkee 2022, p. 362.
  12. ^ Wertenbaker, Thomas J. (1998). "The College of New Jersey and the Presbyterian Church". The Journal of Presbyterian History (1997-). 76 (1). Presbyterian Historical Society: 31–35. ISSN 1521-9216. JSTOR 23335338.
  13. ^ Axtell, James (2006). The Making of Princeton University: From Woodrow Wilson to the Present. Princeton: Princeton University Press. p. 330. ISBN 978-0-691-12686-9.
  14. ^ Durkee 2022, p. 363.
  15. ^ "Trustees Of Princeton University - Nonprofit Explorer". ProPublica. 2019. Archived from the original on August 1, 2021. Retrieved August 1, 2021.
  16. ^ Leitch 1978, p. 299.
  17. ^ Leitch 1978, p. 292.
  18. ^ "About The Office". Office of the President. Princeton University. Archived from the original on June 27, 2021. Retrieved July 29, 2021.


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