List of presidents of Grinnell College


The following is a list of presidents of Grinnell College, a private liberal arts college in Grinnell, Iowa, United States.
Since the college's founding in 1846, Grinnell College has had thirteen presidents and seven temporary acting presidents. A college president is responsible for all aspects of the institution's internal and external affairs, including administrative and academic decision-making.
While Iowa College, later renamed Grinnell College, did not have a president for the first years of its existence, after the Civil War, the trustees chose fellow trustee George Frederic Magoun to lead the institution as it matured. From his inauguration in 1865, Magoun served 19 years, the second-longest presidential tenure in the college's history.
The current Grinnell College president is Anne F. Harris, who replaced president Raynard S. Kington to become the 14th president of the College on July 14, 2020.

Presidents of the College

No.NamePictureYearsNotes
The Trustees of Iowa College1846–1865
1George Frederic Magoun1865–1884
actingSamuel J. Buck1884–1887
2George Augustus Gates1887–1900
actingJohn Hanson Thomas Main1900–1902
3Dan Freeman Bradley1902–1905
4John Hanson Thomas Main1905–1931as acting president in first academic year
5John Scholte Nollen1931–1940
6Samuel Nowell Stevens1940–1954
actingRupert Adam Hawk1954–1955
7Howard Rothmann Bowen1955–1964
actingJames Hartmann Stauss1964–1965
8Glenn Leggett1965–1975President Emeritus of the College 1979–2003
9A. Richard Turner1975–1979
10George A. Drake1979–1991President Emeritus of the College 2005–
actingWaldo S. Walker1987
11Pamela A. Ferguson1991–1997
actingCharles L. Duke1998
12Russell K. Osgood1998–2010
13Raynard S. Kington2010–2020
14Anne F. Harris2020–present