Yale University was founded in 1701 as a school for Congregationalist ministers. One of its ten founding ministers, Abraham Pierson, became its first Rector, the administrative and ecclesiastical head of the college. After Pierson, four more ministers served as rectors of the collegiate school, until 1745 when Yale College was chartered by the Colony of Connecticut and Thomas Clap's title was changed to president. In 1878, Yale incorporated as a university, and incumbent Timothy Dwight V became the last president of the college and the first of Yale University. The first president not ordained as a minister was Arthur Twining Hadley, inaugurated in 1899; no ordained person has held the office since.
The president is elected by the Yale Corporation, the governing body of the University on which the president sits ex-officio. The corporation's bylaws state that the president is "chief executive officer of the University and as such is responsible for the general direction of all its affairs." The president nominates other university officers, including the provost, secretary, and other vice presidents, for election by the corporation. Other top-level administrative positions, such as university chaplain, deans of schools, and masters of residential colleges, are appointed by the president alone.
The university's current president is Maurie D. McInnis who took office on July 1, 2024. She earned her Ph.D. from Yale, is trained as a cultural historian and formerly served as the sixth president of Stony Brook University.
The Office of the President is located in Woodbridge Hall, a 1901 building erected specifically for administrative purpose. The university maintains an official home for the president on Hillhouse Avenue, which hosts presidential events. Peter Salovey, inaugurated in 2013, is the first president since 1986 to use the home as his primary residence. Rectors of Yale College (1701–1745)
The following persons had led Yale as rector:
Image Rector of Yale College Term start Term end Rectors of the Collegiate School (1701–1719) 1 Abraham Pierson(1641–1707) November 11, 1701 March 5, 1707 2 Samuel Andrew(1656–1738) 1707 March 24, 1719 Rectors of Yale College (1719–1745) 3 Timothy Cutler(1684–1765) March 24, 1719 October 17, 1722 4 Elisha Williams(1694–1755) September 13, 1726 October 31, 1739 5 Thomas Clap(1703–1767) April 2, 1740 June 1, 1745
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Presidents of Yale College (1740–1887) and Yale University (1887–) The following persons had led Yale as president:
Image President of Yale College Term start Term end Presidents of Yale College (1745–1887) 5 Thomas Clap(1703–1767) June 1, 1745 September 10, 1766 6 Naphtali Daggett(1727–1780) October 22, 1766 March 25, 1777 7 Ezra Stiles(1727–1795) June 23, 1778 May 12, 1795 8 Timothy Dwight IV(1752–1817) September 8, 1795 January 11, 1817 9 Jeremiah Day(1773–1867) July 23, 1817 October 21, 1846 10 Theodore Dwight Woolsey(1801–1889) October 21, 1846 October 11, 1871 11 Noah Porter III(1811–1892) October 11, 1871 July 1, 1886Presidents of Yale University (1887–present) 12 Timothy Dwight V(1828–1916) July 1, 1886 June 28, 1899 13 Arthur Twining Hadley(1856–1930) June 29, 1899 June 22, 1921 14 James Rowland Angell(1869–1949) June 22, 1921 June 30, 1937 15 Charles Seymour(1885–1963) July 1, 1937 June 30, 1951 16 Alfred Whitney Griswold(1906–1963) July 1, 1951 April 19, 1963 acting Kingman Brewster, Jr.(1919–1988) April 19, 1963 October 12, 1963 17 October 12, 1963 May 17, 1977 18 Hanna Holborn Gray(born 1930) May 18, 1977 June 30, 1978 19 A. Bartlett Giamatti(1938–1989) July 1, 1978 June 30, 1986 20 Benno C. Schmidt, Jr.(1942–2023) July 1, 1986 June 16, 1992 21 Howard R. Lamar(1923–2023) June 17, 1992 June 30, 1993 22 Richard C. Levin(born 1947) July 1, 1993 June 30, 2013 23 Peter Salovey(born 1958) July 1, 2013 June 30, 202424Maurie D. McInnis(born 1966)July 1, 2024 present
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