The president of the University of Washington is the chief administrator of the University of Washington.
The University of Washington is a public university in Seattle, Washington. Established in 1861 and originally known as the Territorial University of Washington, UW is the oldest public university in the state of Washington. The university offers bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees through its 140 departments, organized into various colleges and schools. For the 2025–26 academic year, the University of Washington had a total enrollment of 63,736 students across its three campuses, including 46,079 undergraduates. UW is one of the largest universities in the United States.
The longest-serving president of the university was the 27th president William P. Gerberding, who held the office for 16 years from 1979 to 1995.
The current president of the University of Washington is Robert J. Jones. Jones is the university's first African American president and assumed his position as the university's permanent president on August 1, 2025. Jones is the thirty-fourth president of the university. Twenty-six men and one woman have served as the university's permanent president, and seven men and three women have served as its interim president pending the appointment of a permanent successor.
List of presidents The following individuals have held the Office of President of the University of Washington. There are gaps in the line of succession when the university was closed from 1867–1869 and part of 1874 and 1876 Acting university presidents are marked with an asterisk.
The following persons had led the University of Washington since 1861 as president:
No. Image NameFromTo 1 Asa Mercer 18611863 2 William Edward Barnard 18631866 3 George F. Whitworth 18661867 — Office vacant 4 John Henry Hall 18691872 5 Eugene Kincaid Hill 18721874 6 Mary W. "May" Thayer 18741874 — Office vacant 7 George F. Whitworth 18741876 — Office vacant 8 Alexander Jay Anderson 18771882 9 Leonard Jackson Powell 18821887 10 Thomas Milton Gatch 18871895 11 Mark Walrod Harrington 18951897 12 William Franklin Edwards 18971897 13 acting Charles Francis Reeves 18971898 13 Frank Pierrepont Graves 18981902 14 Thomas Franklin Kane 19021914 15 acting Henry Landes 19141915 16 Henry Suzzallo 19151926 17 acting David Thomson 19261927 18 Matthew Lyle Spencer 19271933 19 acting Hugo Winkenwerder 19331934 20 Lee Paul Sieg 19341946 21 Raymond B. Allen 19461951 22 acting H.P. "Dick" Everest 19521952 23 Henry Schmitz 19521958 24 Charles Odegaard 19581973 25 acting Philip W. Cartwright 19731974 26 John R. Hogness 19741979 27 William P. Gerberding July 1, 1979August 31, 1995 28 Richard Levis McCormick September 1, 1995October 25, 2002 interim Lee L. Huntsman November 16, 2002 November 21, 2003 29 November 21, 2003 June 13, 2004 30 Mark Emmert June 14, 2004September 30, 2010 31 interim Phyllis Wise October 1, 2010June 30, 2011 32 Michael K. Young July 1, 2011March 1, 2015 interim Ana Mari Cauce March 2, 2015 October 13, 2015 33October 13, 2015July 31, 2025 34 Robert J. Jones August 1, 2025 Present
Timeline of University of Washington presidential terms
See also History of the University of Washington List of University of Washington people Washington Huskies
References