President of Texas A&M University
| President of Texas A&M University | |
|---|---|
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| Appointer | Texas A&M University System Board of Regents |
| Inaugural holder | Thomas Sanford Gathright |
| Formation | October 4, 1876 |
| Website | Office of the President |
The president of Texas A&M University is the chief officer of the academic administration of Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas. Forty-one people—thirty-nine men and two women—have held this office, including those who were in the position when it was named Chairman of the Faculty between 1883-1890, and those who held the position in an acting or interim capacity.
As of December 12, 2023, Mark Welsh is the current president.[1] Welsh was serving as the dean of the Bush School of Government and Public Service before he was appointed as acting president by Texas A&M University System Chancellor John Sharp on July 21,[2] following the resignation of M. Katherine Banks.[3] On November 17, 2023, Welsh was named the sole finalist for the position of President of Texas A&M University.[4]
Early history
On October 4, 1876, on the recommendation of former Confederate president Jefferson Davis after he had declined the position, Thomas Sanford Gathright became the first president of the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas (the future Texas A&M University). At the inauguration of the college, Gathright stated to those assembled
To the full success of the college, I can promise the best efforts of my colleagues in the faculty, as I pledge my own. They may not be the proper men to work out success, and may be called to give place to others. I may not be suited to my place, and may retire; still this great work, in which all the people of this good state are interested, must go on and must succeed.[5]
Following an investigation into the college’s adherence to the Morrill Act of 1862, he was fired on November 21, 1879, by the Board of Directors. As a land-grant college under the Morrill Act, the curriculum at A&M College was meant to focus on agricultural and mechanical studies, and to teach military tactics. Gathright had personally favored the classical studies and disliked the military procedures. He also did not get along with some members of the faculty.[6] Gathright's administration also faced the burden of organizing the college, an undefined curriculum, a shortage of student housing, and enrollment difficulties.[7]
Presidents
The list of Texas A&M University presidents includes the previous presidents, and Chairmen of the Faculty of the Agricultural & Mechanical College of Texas. It also includes those that served in an acting or interim capacity.
| Dates in Office | President | Office Held |
|---|---|---|
| July 15, 1876 - November 21, 1879 | Thomas Sanford Gathright | President |
| November 22, 1879 - April 1, 1883 | John Garland James | President |
| April 1, 1883 - June 26, 1883 June 26, 1883 - July 19, 1883 |
James Reid Cole | Acting President President |
| July 23, 1883 - December 11, 1887 | Hardaway Hunt Dinwiddie | Chairman of the Faculty |
| January 24, 1888 - July 1, 1890 | Louis Lowry McInnis, A.M. | Chairman of the Faculty |
| July 1, 1890 - January 20, 1891 | William Stuart Lorraine Bringhurst, Ph.D. | Acting President |
| January 20, 1891 - January 3, 1898 | Lawrence Sullivan Ross, B.A. | President |
| January 3, 1898 - July 1, 1898 | Roger Haddock Whitlock, M.E. | Acting President |
| July 1, 1898 - December 2, 1901 | Lafayette Lumpkin Foster | President |
| December 10, 1901 - July 1, 1902 | Roger Haddock Whitlock, M.E. | Acting President |
| July 1, 1902 - September 1, 1905 | David Franklin Houston, M.A., LL.D. | President |
| September 8, 1905 - August 7, 1908 | Henry Hill Harrington | President |
| September 1, 1908 - October 1, 1913 | Robert Teague Milner | President |
| September 1, 1913 - August 24, 1914 | Charles Puryear, M.A., LL.D. | Acting President |
| August 25, 1914 - September 1, 1925 | William Bennett Bizzell, Ph.D. | President |
| September 3, 1925 - August 7, 1943 | Thomas Otto Walton LL.D. | President |
| August 9, 1943 - May 27, 1944 | Frank Cleveland Bolton, M.S. LL.D. | Acting President |
| May 27, 1944 - September 1, 1948 | Gibb Gilchrist, C.E., LL.D. | President |
| September 1, 1948 - June 3, 1950 | Frank Cleveland Bolton, M.S. LL.D. | President |
| June 3, 1950 - September 1, 1953 | Marion Thomas Harrington, Ph.D. | Acting President |
| September 1, 1953 - December 21, 1956 | David Hitchens Morgan, Ph.D. | President |
| December 22, 1956 - September 1, 1957 | David Willard Williams, M.S. | Acting President |
| September 1, 1957 - July 1, 1959 | Marion Thomas Harrington, Ph.D. | President |
| July 1, 1959 - March 23, 1970 | James Earl Rudder, LL.D. | President |
| March 30, 1970 - November 1, 1970 | Alvin Roubal Luedecke, LL.D. | Acting President |
| November 1, 1970 - July 31, 1977 | Jack Kenny Williams, Ph.D. | President |
| August 1, 1977 - July 10, 1980 | Jarvis E. Miller, Ph.D. | President |
| July 10, 1980 - August 31, 1981 | Charles H. Samson, Jr., Ph.D. | Acting President |
| September 1, 1981 - August 31, 1988 | Frank E. Vandiver, Ph.D. | President |
| September 1, 1988 - August 31, 1993 | William H. Mobley, Ph.D. | President |
| September 1, 1993 - June 1, 1994 | E. Dean Gage, DVM | Acting President |
| July 1, 1994 - July 31, 2002 | Ray M. Bowen, Ph.D. | President |
| August 1, 2002 - December 18, 2006 | Robert M. Gates, Ph.D. | President |
| December 18, 2006 - January 3, 2008 | Ed J. Davis, Ph.D. | Interim President |
| January 3, 2008 - June 15, 2009 | Elsa A. Murano, Ph.D. | President |
| June 15, 2009 - February 12, 2010 February 12, 2010 - January 13, 2014 |
R. Bowen Loftin, Ph.D. | Interim President President |
| January 14, 2014 - April 30, 2015 | Mark A. Hussey, Ph.D. | Interim President |
| May 1, 2015 - December 31, 2020 | Michael K. Young, J.D. | President |
| January 1, 2021 - May 31, 2021 | John L. Junkins, Ph.D. | Interim President |
| June 1, 2021 – July 20, 2023 | M. Katherine Banks, Ph.D. | President |
| July 21, 2023 – December 11, 2023 | Mark A. Welsh III, M.S. | Interim President |
| December 12, 2023 – present | Mark A. Welsh III, M.S. | President |
References
- ^ "Former Air Force Chief Of Staff Mark A. Welsh III Named 27th President Of Texas A&M". Texas A&M Today. December 12, 2023. Retrieved December 23, 2023.
- ^ Texas A&M University System [@tamusystem] (July 21, 2023). "Chancellor Sharp has named Dean Mark A. Welsh III acting President of @TAMU after President M. Katherine Banks submitted a letter late Thursday announcing she would retire immediately: http://tx.ag/TAMU072123" (Tweet). Archived from the original on July 22, 2023. Retrieved July 21, 2023 – via Twitter.
- ^ McGee, Kate (July 21, 2023). "Texas A&M President Katherine Banks resigns amid fallout from failed hiring of journalism professor". The Texas Tribune. Retrieved July 21, 2023.
- ^ "Mark Welsh Named Sole Finalist For Texas A&M University President". Texas A&M Today. November 17, 2023. Retrieved December 9, 2023.
- ^ "Reprints from the Texas Aggie". Cushing Memorial Library and Archives. Archived from the original on September 19, 2006. Retrieved August 3, 2023.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ Chapman, David L. "Thomas S. Gathright: Dedicated to Success, Doomed to Failure". Cushing Memorial Library and Archives. Archived from the original on September 19, 2006. Retrieved February 27, 2008.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ "Howdy, Mr. President". Texas A&M Foundation. Spring 2016. Retrieved August 1, 2023.
External links
- Past Presidents of Texas A&M University
- Presidents of the Agricultural & Mechanical College of Texas & Texas A&M University
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