List of presidents of the University of Houston

See also: List of chancellors of the University of Houston System

The Ezekiel W. Cullen Building at the University of Houston has housed the President's office since 1950.

The office of the President of the University of Houston, currently held by Renu Khator, was created with the founding of the University of Houston (then known as Houston Junior College) in 1927 as the chief executive officer of the school. From 1927 until 1945 when UH separated from Houston Independent School District, the university's president also held the position of Superintendent of Schools of that school district. In 1956, the duties of president were divided into two positions. The position of Chancellor was created to fulfill past presidential duties regarding external affairs, while the president remained responsible for internal affairs of the university. This leadership structure lasted until 1961, when the university became a state-run, public institution. The duties of the chancellor and president became re-consolidated back into the sole position of president.

Since 1997, the President of the University of Houston has also held the position of Chancellor of the University of Houston System, thus making it a dual-office. Note: The defunct Chancellor of the University of Houston position should not be confused with the current position of Chancellor of the University of Houston System. While one position refers to a leader of the single flagship institution of the University of Houston System, the latter refers to the leader of the entire University of Houston System consisting of several other universities besides the flagship institution.

The following persons have served as president of the University of Houston: ^[1]

No.	Image	Name	Term start	Term end	Ref.
1		Edison E. Oberholtzer	1927	1950
interim		Walter William Kemmerer	1950	1950
2			1950	1953
interim		Charles Flemming McElhinney	1953	1954
3		A.D. Bruce [a]	1954	1956
4		Clanton Ware Williams [b]	1956	1961
5		Philip Guthrie Hoffman [c]	1961	1977
6		Barry Munitz	1977	1982
interim		Hugh Walker	1982	1983
7		Richard L. Van Horn	1983	July 12, 1989 [d]	[2]
interim		George W. Magner [e]	July 12, 1989	August 31, 1990	[3]
8		Marguerite Ross Barnett [f]	September 1, 1990	February 26, 1992 [g]	[4] [5]
acting		James H. Pickering	January 28, 1992	April 22, 1992
interim			April 22, 1992	April 19, 1993	[6]
9			April 19, 1993	July 31, 1995	[7] [8]
10		Glenn Allan Goerke	August 1, 1995	March 31, 1997
11		Arthur K. Smith [h]	April 1, 1997	August 31, 2003	[9] [10]
12		Jay Gogue	September 1, 2003	May 31, 2007 [i]	[11] [12]
interim		John M. Rudley [j]	June 1, 2007	January 14, 2008	[13]
13		Renu Khator [k]	January 15, 2008	present	[14] [15] [16]

Table notes:

1. Served as Chancellor of the University of Houston when that position was created until 1961, helped to establish UH as a state school
2. Served as President after A.D. Bruce became Chancellor
3. First chancellor of the University of Houston System
4. Resign to head the University of Oklahoma.
5. Ended the tradition of a live cougar Shasta mascot
6. First female and first black president; took a leave of absence after being diagnosed with cancer
7. Died in office while on medical leave.
8. First person to hold UH Presidency and UHS Chancellor position simultaneously
9. Resigned to head Auburn University.
10. President of Texas Southern University from 2008 to 2016
11. First foreign-born president, allowed for re-establishment of live Shasta mascot

References

1. "Past Presidents". University of Houston.
2. "Van Horn accepts Oklahoma post" . Houston Chronicle . May 3, 1989. p. 1. University of Houston President Richard Van Horn accepted the presidency of the University of Oklahoma Tuesday, 12 days after he withdrew his name from consideration for the job... The offer is effective July 15.
3. "UH interim chief focuses on finances" . Houston Chronicle . July 12, 1989. p. 13. The University of Houston's newly appointed interim president said Tuesday he will try to maintain the university's high level of research funding and reduce its multimilliondollar athletic deficit. "I don't guess anyone in relation to any job can guarantee success. I can' guarantee I'll do everything possible to continue the (university's) momentum," said Professor George Magner, who assumes the interim presidency today. Magner, 62, will lead the institution until a permanent replacement is found for President Richard Van Horn, who leaves July 15 to become president of the University of Oklahoma.
4. "Barnett takes leave of absence from UH" . Houston Chronicle . January 29, 1992. p. 1. The University of Houston Board of Regents granted an immediate six-month leave of absence Tuesday to President Marguerite Ross Barnett, who asked for the time because of health problems. Barnett, who did not attend the emergency meeting of the regents, reportedly is suffering from a neuroendocrinological illness, a condition that could range from a minor problem to a cancerous tumor. The board named James Pickering as acting president and also appointed him senior vice president for academic affairs.
5. "Former UH head Barnett dies of cancer" . Houston Chronicle . February 27, 1992. p. 1. Marguerite Ross Barnett, who left the national spotlight as president of the University of Houston to battle died Wednesday on the Hawaiian island where she and her husband honeymooned. Barnett, 49, the nation's top-ranked black woman college administrator until she took a medical leave from UH last month, had a blood disorder involving hypoglycemia with metastatic cancer, according to officials at Maui Memorial Hospital in Wailuku... Barnett came to UH on Sept. 1, 1990... She announced in mid-November that she was curtailing her duties because of illness and took a six-month medical leave late last January when the condition worsened...
6. "UH taps Pickering as interim president" . Houston Chronicle . April 23, 1992. p. 35. James H. Pickering was tapped Wednesday to lead the University of Houston until a permanent president takes over at the school. The University of Houston System Board of Regents voted to make Pickering, 54, UH's president through August 1994. Pickering had been the school's acting president since January, when Marguerite Ross Barnett left that post to take a six-month medical leave of absence. Barnett, UH's first black and first female president, died of cancer in February.
7. "Pickering will stay on as UH president" . Houston Chronicle . April 20, 1993. p. 19. James Pickering was chosen as the University of Houston's ninth president Monday, a year after being named to an unusual two-year appointment to the post.
8. "UH president to resign post" . Houston Chronicle . May 18, 1995. p. 1. University of Houston President James Pickering, under fire from faculty and regents, said Wednesday he is stepping down effective Aug. 31.
9. "Smith to be UH 11th president" . Houston Chronicle . January 12, 1997. p. 553. Dr. Arthur K. Smith will become the 11th president of the University of Houston, the sixth chancellor of the UH System and the first person to hold both jobs when he arrives in Houston this spring to assume his duties.
10. "Smith to resign as UH chancellor, president". Plainview Herald . January 15, 2003. University of Houston chancellor and president Arthur K. Smith will step down in September after more than six years at both posts, he announced Thursday.
11. "Regents appoint interim NMSU president". Connecticut Post . July 29, 2003. He will serve while the regents look for a replacement for Jay Gogue, who is quitting as president to become chancellor and president of the University of Houston on Sept. 1.
12. Tresaugue, Matthew (March 23, 2007). "UH president takes top job at alma mater Auburn". Houston Chronicle . Jay Gogue will leave the University of Houston to take the top job at Auburn University, his alma mater, where trustees named him the school's next president in a unanimous vote Thursday. Gogue will begin work at the Alabama school July 16, less than four years after he arrived in Houston.
13. "JOHN RUDLEY NAMED AS INTERIM LEADER OF UH AND UH SYSTEM". University of Houston. May 17, 2007.
14. De Leon, Samantha (April 27, 2023). "Not If, but When – Renu Khator and the Evolution of the University of Houston". Houston History. Retrieved February 4, 2024. These recent milestones are owed largely to Dr. Renu Khator, who became president of the University of Houston and chancellor of the University of Houston System in 2008, making her the first female chancellor in Texas and the first Indian immigrant to lead a comprehensive U.S. research university
15. "USF PROVOST RENU KHATOR NAMED FINALIST FOR UNIVERSITY OF HOUSTON TOP SPOT". University of Houston. October 15, 2007.
16. "Curriculum Vitae". University of Houston.