| President of The George Washington University | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Appointer | GW Board of Trustees |
| Formation | 1821 |
| First holder | William Staughton |
| Website | Office of the President |
The president of the George Washington University is the chief executive officer of the George Washington University, appointed by the GW Board of Trustees and charged "to establish the university's vision, oversee its teaching and research mission and guide its future." [1]
The first President of what was then known as Columbian College was clergyman and Chaplain of the United States Senate, William Staughton. Although Columbian College was founded by prominent Baptists, its Congressional Charter forbade any religious restrictions for the University. As such, the Presidents of the University succeeding Staughton were not required to be Baptists. The Presidents of the George Washington University have been selected by its Board of Trustees. [2]
The current president of the George Washington University is Ellen Granberg. University officials announced Granberg would succeed incumbent Mark S. Wrighton. Granberg took office on 1 July 2023. [3]
In January 2023, the university announced that Ellen Granberg had been selected to succeed Wrighton. Granberg, who will become the first woman to serve as president of George Washington University, will take office on July 1, 2023. [4]
| No. | Image | President [8] | Term | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | William Staughton | 1821–1827 | |
| 2 |  | Stephen Chapin | 1828–1841 | |
| 3 |  | Joel Smith Bacon | 1843–1854 | |
| 4 |  | Joseph Getchell Binney | 1855–1858 | |
| 5 |  | George W. Samson | 1859–1871 | |
| 6 |  | James Clarke Welling | 1871–1894 | |
| 7 |  | Beniah Longley Whitman | 1895–1900 | |
| 8 |  | Charles W. Needham | 1902–1910 | |
| 9 |  | Charles H. Stockton | 1910–1918 | |
| 10 |  | William Miller Collier | 1918–1921 | |
| 11 |  | William Mather Lewis | 1923–1927 | |
| 12 |  | Cloyd H. Marvin | 1927–1959 | |
| 13 |  | Thomas H. Carroll | 1961–1964 | |
| 14 |  | Lloyd Hartman Elliott | 1965–1988 | |
| 15 |  | Stephen Joel Trachtenberg | August 1, 1988–July 31, 2007 | [9] |
| 16 |  | Steven Knapp | August 1, 2007–July 31, 2017 | [10] [11] |
| 17 |  | Thomas LeBlanc | August 1, 2017–December 31, 2022 | [12] [13] |
| 18 |  | Mark S. Wrighton (interim) | January 1, 2022–June 30, 2023 | [14] [15] [16] |
| 19 |  | Ellen Granberg | July 1, 2023–present | [4] |
The George Washington University is a private federally-chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Originally named Columbian College, it was chartered in 1821 by the United States Congress and is the first university founded under Washington, D.C.'s jurisdiction. It is one of the nation's six federally chartered universities.
The George Washington University Law School is the law school of George Washington University, in Washington, D.C. Established in 1865, GW Law is the oldest law school in the national capital. GW Law has 275 elective courses in business and finance law, environmental law, government procurement law, intellectual property law, international comparative law, litigation and dispute resolution, and national security and U.S. foreign relations law.
Stephen Joel Trachtenberg was the 15th President of the George Washington University, serving from 1988 to 2007. On August 1, 2007, he retired from the presidency and became GW's President Emeritus and University Professor of Public Service at the Trachtenberg School of Public Policy and Public Administration.
Mark Stephen Wrighton is an American academic and chemist who was President Emeritus of George Washington University and has been serving as Chancellor Emeritus of Washington University in St. Louis since May 2019 after serving as the 14th Chancellor of Washington University in St. Louis from 1995 to 2019. He was also appointed by Washington University in St. Louis as the inaugural holder of the James and Mary Wertsch Distinguished University Professorship in August 2020. From January 2022 to June 2023, Wrighton took a sabbatical leave from WUSTL to serve as the interim and 18th president of The George Washington University while GWU conducted a presidential search for a replacement for president Thomas LeBlanc.
William Staughton was a Baptist clergyman, educator, and music composer. He was also a Chaplain of the United States Senate and the first President of Columbian College from 1821-1827, which is the original name and oldest division (1821) of The George Washington University.
The George Washington Revolutionaries are the athletic teams of George Washington University of Washington, D.C. The Revolutionaries compete in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) as members of the Atlantic 10 Conference for most sports.
William Ruggles was an American professor at George Washington University.
The George Washington University School of Business is the professional business school of George Washington University in Washington, D.C. The GW School of Business is ranked as one of the top business schools in the United States, with globally ranked undergraduate and graduate programs. GW's campus is also adjacent to some of the world's leading financial institutions, including the Federal Reserve, World Bank, and International Monetary Fund.
The George Washington Colonials football team represented George Washington University of Washington, D.C. in college football competition from 1881 to 1966. The team's home field in the final six seasons was District of Columbia Stadium, shared with the Washington Redskins of the National Football League.
The Columbian College of Arts and Sciences is the college of liberal arts and sciences of the George Washington University, in Washington, D.C. CCAS is the largest school at George Washington University, with around 5,000 undergraduate students and 2,500 graduate students, and 42 academic departments, representing a significant portion of the University's instructional, scholarly and research activity.
The School of Media and Public Affairs (SMPA) at the George Washington University in Washington, DC, a school in the Columbian College of Arts and Sciences, offers both undergraduate and graduate programs in journalism and political and international communication. The School's director is Frank Sesno, former CNN correspondent, creator of PBS's Planet Forward and professor.
Lloyd Hartman Elliott was President of the George Washington University from 1965 to 1988. He was born in Crosby, Clay County, West Virginia in 1918. He was also a professor of educational administration at Cornell University and President of the University of Maine.
Cloyd Heck Marvin was the longest serving president of the George Washington University, from 1927 to 1959, and previously the then-youngest American university president from 1922–1927 at the University of Arizona. He was a freemason.
The George Washington University Student Government Association is the student government of the George Washington University in Washington, DC. The SGA is responsible for advocacy on behalf of the GW student body at and is modeled after the U.S. Federal Government and consists of three branches: legislative, executive and judicial.
National University School of Law was an American law school founded in Washington, D.C. in 1869. Originally intended as part of a larger design for a national university in the United States, the school was the principal component of National University during its existence. The school existed until 1954, when it merged with George Washington University Law School.
Christopher Alan Bracey is an American law professor and former litigator who currently serves as provost and executive vice president for academic affairs of The George Washington University. He is a leading scholar on race, inequality, and the law and is the author of Saviors or Sellouts: The Promise and Peril of Black Conservatism from Booker T. Washington to Condoleezza Rice (2008) and co-editor of The Dred Scott Case: Historical and Contemporary Perspectives on Race and Law (2010).
Thomas John LeBlanc is a computer scientist and academic administrator. He was the 17th President of the George Washington University from July 2017 to December 2021.
Ellen Marie Granberg is an American sociologist and academic administrator who became the 19th president of George Washington University on July 1, 2023.
Ben Vinson III is an American historian, currently serving as the 18th president of Howard University since September 2023. He served as provost of Case Western Reserve University from 2018 to 2023 and as dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at George Washington University from 2013 to 2018.
