List of presidents of the University of Chicago

The following is a list of presidents of the University of Chicago. ^[1]

The title of the university's chief executive was provisionally changed to "Chancellor" between 1945 and 1960. ^{[2] [3]}

List of presidents

No.	Image	Name	From	To	Tenure	Ref.
1		William Rainey Harper	July 1, 1891	January 10, 1906	14.5 years	[4] [5]
acting		Harry Pratt Judson	January 16, 1906	February 20, 1907	1.1 year	[6]
2			February 20, 1907	February 19, 1923	16 years	[7] [8] [9]
acting		Ernest DeWitt Burton	February 20, 1923	July 12, 1923	4 months	[8]
3			July 12, 1923	May 26, 1925	2 years	[10] [11] [12]
acting	–	Frederic Woodward	May 27, 1925	September 30, 1925	4 months	[13]
4		Max Mason	October 1, 1925	June 14, 1928	2.7 years	[14] [15] [16]
acting	–	Frederic Woodward	June 15, 1928	June 30, 1929	1 year	[17]
5		Robert Maynard Hutchins	July 1, 1929	December 31, 1950	21.5 years	[18] [19] [20]
acting	–	Ernest C. Colwell	January 1, 1951	April 12, 1951	3 months	[21]
acting	–	Lawrence A. Kimpton	April 12, 1951	October 18, 1951	6 months	[22]
6			October 18, 1951	September 7, 1960	8.9 years	[23] [24] [25]
acting	–	R. Wendell Harrison	September 8, 1960	March 2, 1961	6 months	[26]
7		George W. Beadle	March 3, 1961	November 13, 1968	7.7 years	[27] [28] [29]
8		Edward H. Levi	November 14, 1968	February 5, 1975	6.2 years	[30] [31] [32]
acting	–	John T. Wilson	February 6, 1975	December 9, 1975	10 months	[33] [34]
9			December 9, 1975	June 30, 1978	2.6 years	[35]
10		Hanna Holborn Gray	July 1, 1978	June 30, 1993	15 years	[36] [37] [38]
11	–	Hugo Sonnenschein	July 1, 1993	June 30, 2000	7 years	[39] [40]
12	–	Don Michael Randel	July 1, 2000	June 30, 2006	6 years	[41] [42] [43]
13		Robert Zimmer	July 1, 2006	August 31, 2021	15.2 years	[44] [45] [46]
14		Paul Alivisatos	September 1, 2021	incumbent		[47]

References

1. "History of the Office". president.uchicago.edu. Retrieved 2025-04-01.
2. "Summer Brings Major Changes". The Chicago Maroon . November 16, 1945. p. 8.
3. "Reorganize UC administration". The Chicago Maroon . Vol. 70, no. 7. October 13, 1960. p. 1.
4. "The President Is Dead". The Chicago Maroon . Vol. 4, no. 63. January 10, 1906. p. 1.
5. "William Rainey Harper, 1891-1906". UChicago.
6. "Dean H.P. Judson is choice for the acting presidency". The Chicago Maroon . Vol. 4, no. 67. January 16, 1906. p. 1.
7. "Dr. Harry Pratt Judson is unanimously elected by trustees to succeed Dr. Harper as president". The Chicago Maroon . Vol. 5, no. 89. February 21, 1907. p. 1.
8. "Pres. Judson Resigns! Burton Acting Head". The Chicago Maroon . Vol. 21, no. 53. January 16, 1923. p. 1.
9. "Harry Pratt Judson, 1907-1923". UChicago.
10. "Professor Ernest D. Burton elected president". The University Record. 9 (4): 312. October 1923.
11. "Burton is dead". The Chicago Maroon . Vol. 24, no. 125. May 26, 1925. p. 1.
12. "Ernest DeWitt Burton, 1923-1925". UChicago.
13. Hansen, John Mark (Spring 2025). "Evolution on trial". The University of Chicago Magazine.
14. "U of C picks Max Mason as new president" . Chicago Tribune . August 19, 1925. p. 1.
15. "Election of President Max Mason". The University Record. 11 (4): 261–263. October 1925.
16. "Max Mason, 1925-1928". UChicago.
17. "President Max Mason's Resignation". The University Record. 14 (3): 172. July 1928.
18. "Hutchins New President". The Chicago Maroon . April 26, 1929. p. 1.
19. "Hutchins Quits!". The Chicago Maroon . December 20, 1950. p. 1.
20. "Robert Maynard Hutchins, 1929-1951". UChicago.
21. "Acting Chancellor..." The Chicago Maroon . December 20, 1950. p. 1.
22. "Kimpton UC Boss!". The Chicago Maroon . April 13, 1951. p. 1.
23. Bahr, Gary (October 5, 1951). "Kimpton inauguration set for Oct. 18 at Rockefeller Chapel". The Chicago Maroon . p. 3.
24. Johnston, Neal (April 1, 1960). "'Kimpton Era' becomes a memory". The Chicago Maroon . Vol. 69, no. 28. p. 1.
25. "Lawrence A. Kimpton, 1951-September 7, 1960". UChicago.
26. "Trustees appoint R. Harrison". The Chicago Maroon . Vol. 69, no. 42. September 30, 1960. p. 1.
27. "Beadle has arrived; Inauguration May 4". The Chicago Maroon . Vol. 69, no. 61. March 3, 1961. p. 1.
28. "Beadle inauguration Thursday". The Chicago Maroon . Vol. 69, no. 68. May 2, 1961. p. 1.
29. "George W. Beadle, 1961-November 1968". UChicago.
30. Heck, Caroline (November 15, 1968). "Ed Levi Inaugurated as University President". The Chicago Maroon . Vol. 77, no. 15. p. 3.
31. "Senate Confirms Levi" . The New York Times . February 6, 1975. p. 1.
32. "Edward H. Levi, 1968-1975". UChicago.
33. "John T. Wilson, Provost". UChicago.
34. "John T Wilson, 1975-1978". UChicago.
35. "John T. Wilson elected president". The University of Chicago Record. UChicago. January 7, 1976. p. 14.
36. Maeroff, Gene I. (June 22, 1978). "A Leader Chosen, U. of Chicago Sees More Choices Ahead" . The New York Times . p. A21.
37. "Hanna Holborn Gray". UC.
38. "Hanna Holborn Gray, 1978-1993". UChicago.
39. "Sonnenschein will serve seventh and final year". The University of Chicago Chronicle. June 10, 1999.
40. "Hugo Sonnenschein, 1993-2000". UChicago.
41. "Don Michael Randel to be 12th President, will take office July 1". The University of Chicago Chronicle. January 6, 2000.
42. Klein, Brian (August 15, 2005). "Don Randel to leave University for Mellon foundation". The Chicago Maroon .
43. "Don Michael Randel, 2000-2006". UChicago.
44. "Zimmer elected 13th President of University". The University of Chicago Chronicle. March 16, 2006.
45. Lee, Matthew (August 22, 2020). "President Zimmer to step down after 2020-21 school year, transition into new role as Chancellor". The Chicago Maroon .
46. "Robert J. Zimmer, 2006-2021". UChicago.
47. "Paul Alivisatos Elected University President". UChicago. February 26, 2021.