President of Oberlin College


The President of Oberlin College is the chief administrator of both Oberlin College and Oberlin Conservatory of Music. Each is appointed by and is responsible to the other members of that body, who delegate to him or her the day-to-day running of the university. The current incumbent is Carmen Twillie Ambar. As part of Oberlin's inherent mission of a vastly interdisciplinary education, presidents have been chosen from a wide range of fields as diverse as musical performance, theology physics, law, athletics and pure mathematics. Thus, each president is a qualified academic professor who has the opportunity to teach classes.

Presidents of Oberlin College

The following persons have served as president of Oberlin College:
No.ImagePresidentTerm startTerm end
actingHenry Brown18341834
actingJohn Keep18341835
1Asa Mahan18351850
actingCharles Grandison Finney18491849
actingJohn Morgan18501850
2Charles Grandison Finney18511866
actingJohn Morgan18591859
3James Fairchild18661889
actingFrances Drake Parish18711871
actingJohn Millott Ellis18711871
actingHenry Martyn Tenney18891891
4William Gay Ballantine18911896
actingJames Harris Fairchild18961898
5John Henry Barrows1899June 3, 1902
actingJohn Guiteau Welch Cowles19021902
6Henry Churchill King19021927
actingHenry Martyn Tenney19091910
actingEdward Increase Bosworth19181919
7Ernest H. Wilkins19271946
8William Stevenson19461960
actingWilliam Blair StewartDecember 1952March 1953
actingDonald Melbourne LoveJune 1959September 1959
9Robert K. Carr19601969
actingEllsworth Clayton Carlson19691970
10Robert W. Fuller19701974
actingEllsworth Clayton Carlson19741975
11Emil DanenbergApril 1975January 16, 1982
actingJames Lawrence PowellSeptember 1981July 1983
12S. Frederick StarrJuly 1, 1983June 30, 1994
actingAlfred F. MacKayJuly 1991February 1992
13Nancy DyeJuly 1, 1994June 30, 2007
actingClayton R. KoppesJuly 2000December 2000
14Marvin KrislovJuly 1, 2007June 30, 2017
actingClayton R. KoppesJuly 1, 2017August 31, 2017
15Carmen Twillie AmbarSeptember 1, 2017present

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