The president of the Naval War College is a flag officer in the United States Navy. The President's House in Newport, Rhode Island is their official residence.
The functions of the president of the Naval War College actually predate the establishment of the institution. As Commandant of the Newport Naval Station and then as Commodore of the Atlantic Squadron, Stephen B. Luce established enlisted education and training with the Apprentice School along the shores of the Narragansett Bay. Luce had earlier delivered lectures on naval strategy and command from the facilities of the Naval Torpedo Station on Goat Island before he spearheaded efforts to procure the building and surrounding grounds on Coaster's Harbor Island, which still stands as the location of the Naval War College. The office of the president was formally created along with the Naval War College as a whole by U.S. Navy General Order 325, signed by Secretary of the Navy William E. Chandler on 6 October 1884. The order stipulated that a commissioned officer of the Navy no lower in grade than commander command the institution. Initially, the Navy Department registered the officer in command as the "commandant," which Commodore Stephen B. Luce rather chose to use the title of "president." Eventually, the Navy Department formally listed the officer in command of the Naval War College as "president." Although the original General Order establishing the Naval War College also directed that the president serve presiding officer of a board consisting of the president and the officers assigned, successive presidents of the institution influenced the establishment of the General Board of the Navy by 1900. Thus, the President of the Naval War College and the staff assigned had an interrelated role in the deliberations of the General Board which also determined the yearly focus of the curriculum within the college. This system influenced the early development of the Naval War College in the era of the First and Second World Wars. The unification of the joint services after 1947 and then the Goldwater-Nichols Act legislation subsequently changed the curricular functions of the Naval War College.
General Order 325 identified the colleges first president as Commodore Stephen B. Luce, who took office on the day Chandler signed the order. The last captain to serve as president left the position in 1913, after which all presidents have been flag officers. Since 1948, all presidents of the Naval War College have been vice admirals or rear admirals.
While college activities were suspended during the Spanish–American War, the presidency was vacant. When activities were again suspended during World War I, and during periods since World War I between the departure of an outgoing president and the arrival of a successor, acting presidents have administered the college until a new president reported for duty.
The college counts individuals who serve more than once as president as a separate president for each tour for purposes of chronological numbering of the presidents. Acting presidents are not counted.
The presidency of the Naval War College is one of only four positions in the United States Navy which has an official portrait associated with it, the others being the secretary of the Navy, the chief of naval operations, and the superintendent of the United States Naval Academy. The Naval War College Museum holds in its collection the official portraits of all but ten of the presidents, including all presidents since 1939.Pentangelo, John, and Joshua Howard, "Artifact Spotlight: Portrait of Rear Admiral James P. Wisecup, 2010," Soundings in Narragansett Bay's Naval History: The Naval War College Museum Blog, March 31, 2011
Presidents Presidents of the Naval War College in chronological order.For the first 51 presidents, this table is based on information at the "Past Presidents" page at the Naval War College Web site. For the 52nd and 53rd presidents, the list is derived from information at the President's House Occupants page on the Naval War College Web site. Information on acting presidents is from the Naval War College Illustrated History and Guide, pp. 14–15. Additional information from other sources is footnoted separately.