History of the Office
The President's House
On September 18, 1890, William Rainey Harper was elected by the Board of Trustees as the first President of the University of Chicago. President Harper assumed office on July 1, 1891, beginning the succession of thirteen chief executives who have led the University for more than a century. The current President, Robert J. Zimmer, assumed office on July 1, 2006.
The progression of Presidents has been varied only once during the University’s history, from 1945 to 1961, when the Board of Trustees designated the head of the University of Chicago as the Chancellor. From 1945 to 1951, Ernest C. Colwell served as President, acting as chief operating officer under Chancellor Robert M. Hutchins. From 1951 to 1961, during the administration of Chancellor Lawrence A. Kimpton, the title of President was not used. In 1961, at the decision of the Board of Trustees, George M. Beadle, who had been elected as Chancellor, resumed the title of President, and the chief executive of the University of Chicago has since been designated as the President.
Vice Presidents of the University of Chicago were appointed as the demands of the President’s Office increased. The first Vice President was James R. Angell, appointed in 1918 to act in the absence of President Harry Pratt Judson, who was traveling abroad as a member of the international American-Persian Relief Commission. In December 1923, Trevor Arnett was appointed the first Vice President and Business Manager, and in January 1924, James H. Tufts was appointed the first Vice President and Dean of the Faculties. In 1963, the title Vice President and Dean of Faculties was discontinued, and Edward H. Levi was appointed as the first Provost of the University of Chicago.
William Rainey Harper
1891-1906
William Rainey Harper grew up in New Concord, Ohio, in a Scotch Covenanter family and community that valued education. He learned to read when... Read more ›
Harry Pratt Judson
1907-1923
Harry Pratt Judson was one of many educators tapped by William Rainey Harper to begin the work of the University of Chicago. A school principal in Troy, New York... Read more ›
Ernest DeWitt Burton
1923-1925
Ernest DeWitt Burton was born six months before William Rainey Harper, and their careers paralleled each other in several ways. They met while Harper was... Read more ›
Max Mason
1925-1928
When Ernest Burton died in 1925, the trustees recognized that he was the last member of the original generation of faculty members who could serve as chief executive. Looking for a new president... Read more ›
Robert Maynard Hutchins
1929-1951
William Rainey Harper brought the University of Chicago into being, giving it form and life and mission. But it is the legacy... Read more ›
Lawrence A. Kimpton
1951-1960
Standing six feet two-and-a-half inches tall, barely 40 years old, Lawrence Kimpton seemed the natural successor to Robert Hutchins, who had passed 50 by the time he resigned. With his PhD in philosophy... Read more ›
George W. Beadle
1961-1968
Growth and turbulence marked the Beadle years, which were period of intense change for universities across the country. While strident calls were being... Read more ›
Edward H. Levi
1968-1975
Edward Hirsch Levi was a singular product of the University of Chicago. Educated at the University beginning with kindergarten, Levi attended the Laboratory Schools, the College, and the Law School. His family ties to the University... Read more ›
John T. Wilson
1975-1978
John Todd Wilson was born March 7, 1914, in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania. He was educated at George Washington University and the State University of Iowa, where he studied psychology, philosophy, and education. During World War II while... Read more ›
Hanna Holborn Gray
1978-1993
Hanna Holborn Gray was practically destined to an academic career. She is the daughter of a prominent professor of European history, Hajo Holborn, who after seeking exile from Nazi Germany taught at Yale for 35 years. Her mother, Annemarie Bettmann, who held a PhD... Read more ›
Hugo Sonnenschein
1993-2000
Hugo F. Sonnenschein served from 1993-2000 as the 11th President of the University of Chicago, and then, in the tradition of past University of Chicago Presidents, he returned to teaching and research in the University's Department of Economics. Read more ›
Don Michael Randel
2000-2006
Don Michael Randel began his tenure as the President of the University of Chicago on July 1, 2000. After leaving his post on July 1, 2006, he assumed the presidency of the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. Read more ›
