For more than 150 years, Ohio State’s leaders have remained steadfast in their dedication to the highest standards of excellence in academics, scholarship and service. These individuals laid the groundwork for what our university has become.
Kristina M. Johnson
16th president September 1, 2020 – May 7, 2023
Joseph A. Alutto (Interim)
Acting president July 1, 2013 – June 29, 2014
Joseph A. Alutto (Interim)
Acting president July 1, 2007 – September 30, 2007
Karen Ann Holbrook
13th president October 1, 2002 – June 30, 2007
Edward Harrington Jennings (Interim)
Acting president July 1, 2002 – September 30, 2002
William English Kirwan
12th president July 1, 1998 – June 30, 2002
John Richard Sisson (Interim)
Acting president December 15, 1997 – June 30, 1998
Edward Harrington Jennings
10th president September 1, 1981 – August 31, 1990
Harold Leroy Enarson
9th president September 1, 1972 – August 31, 1981
Novice Gail Fawcett
8th president August 1, 1956 – August 31, 1972
Howard Landis Bevis
7th president February 1, 1940 – June 30, 1956
William McPherson (Interim)
Acting president July 1, 1938 – January 31, 1940
George Washington Rightmire
6th president March 1926 – July 1, 1938
George Washington Rightmire (Interim)
Acting president November 6, 1925 – March 1926
William Oxley Thompson
5th president July 1, 1899 – November 5, 1925
James Hulme Canfield
4th president July 1, 1895 – June 30, 1899
Edward Francis Baxter Orton, Sr.
1st president September 17, 1873 – June 21, 1881
