List of presidents of Utah State University

The following persons have served as president of Utah State University : ^{[1] [2] [3]}

No.	Image	President	Term start	Term end	Refs.
Presidents of the Agricultural College of Utah (1888–1928)
1		Jeremiah W. Sanborn	May 17, 1890	May 31, 1894
2		Joshua H. Paul	June 1, 1894	April 25, 1896
3		Joseph M. Tanner	April 28, 1896	June 10, 1900
4		William J. Kerr	June 11, 1900	March 26, 1907
5		John A. Widtsoe	March 27, 1907	February 16, 1916)
6		Elmer George Peterson	February 17, 1916	June 30, 1945
Presidents of the Utah State Agricultural College (1928–1957)
7		Franklin S. Harris	July 1, 1945	June 30, 1950
8		Louis Linden Madsen	July 1, 1950	April 25, 1953
9		Henry Aldous Dixon	August 8, 1953	December 2, 1954 [a]
10		Daryl Chase	December 3, 1954	June 30, 1968
Presidents of the Utah State University (1957–present)
11		Glen L. Taggart	July 1, 1968	June 15, 1979
12		Stanford Cazier	June 15, 1979	June 30, 1992
13		George H. Emert	July 1, 1992	December 31, 2000	[4]
14		Kermit L. Hall	January 1, 2001	January 31, 2005
15		Stan L. Albrecht	February 1, 2005	December 31, 2016	[5] [6]
16		Noelle E. Cockett	January 1, 2017	July 31, 2023	[7]
17		Elizabeth "Betsy" R. Cantwell	August 1, 2023	February 19, 2025 [b]	[8] [9] [10]
interim		Alan L. Smith	February 20, 2025	November 9, 2025	[11]
18		Brad L. Mortensen	November 10, 2025	present	[12]

Table notes:

1. Resigned to be a U.S. representative.
2. Resigned to head Washington State University.

References

1. "Past Presidents of Utah State University". USU.
2. "Happy Birthday USU". USU. February 23, 2006.
3. Opsahl, Kevin (April 2, 2013). "Presidents of USU each left their mark". The Herald Journal .
4. "Former USU President George Emert Passes Away". USU. March 22, 2018.
5. "Stan Albrecht Named Utah State University's 15th President". USU. January 18, 2005.
6. Pratt, Morgan (December 8, 2016). "Goodbye Stan and Joyce: USU community surprises retiring president". The Utah Statesman .
7. "Dr. Noelle Cockett named new President of Utah State University". Utah System of Higher Education. October 26, 2016.
8. "Elizabeth R. Cantwell Named 17th USU President". Utah State Today. May 19, 2023. Retrieved July 7, 2023.
9. "Elizabeth Cantwell sworn in as 17th USU President". Cache Valley Daily. August 2, 2023. Retrieved August 2, 2023.
10. Tanner, Courtney (February 6, 2025). "Utah State University president suddenly quits after embattled tenure, says she plans to leave state". The Salt Lake Tribune .
11. "Message From USU Interim President Alan L. Smith: Ever Forward, Ever Better". USU. February 20, 2025.
12. Stefanich, Logan (October 30, 2025). "Brad Mortensen unanimously selected to lead Utah State University as its 18th president". KSL-TV . KSL Broadcasting. Retrieved October 31, 2025.

External links

• Presidents of USU each left their mark
• Utah State University President's Office