List of presidents of Washington College

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President of Washington College
Red brick building with snow on the dark roof. In front of the building, there are trees and snow on the ground.
The Hynson-Ringgold House
Incumbent
Michael J. Sosulski
since 2022
ResidenceHynson-Ringgold House
AppointerWashington College Board of Visitors and Governors
Inaugural holderWilliam Smith
Formation1782
WebsiteOffice of the President

Washington College is a private liberal arts college in Chestertown, Maryland, which is on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. The college was founded in 1782 by William Smith, but is the successor institution to the earlier Kent County Free School, which was founded in 1732.[1] From the college's founding until 1922 the executive officer of the college was known as the principal of the college; subsequently, the executive officer is the president of the college.[2][a] While the title changed, the office is considered to be the same and officeholders who were referred to as principals by their contemporaries are now referred to as presidents.[b] Before the title change in 1922, the president of Washington College was the president of the Board of Visitors and Governors; since 1922, that position is the chair of the Board of Visitors and Governors.[2]

The president of Washington College is appointed by the Board of Visitors and Governors and serves at the pleasure of the board.[3] They are the chief executive officer and chief spokesperson of the college. As a part of their role, they are a voting member of the college's faculty and ex officio member of the Board of Visitors and Governors. There is no fixed compensation or pay scale for the position; each president negotiates a contract independently with the board.[3] As a part of the position's compensation, the President of Washington College is given access to the Hynson-Ringgold House, which has been the official residence of the Washington College president since 1944.[4]

At least 31 people have been the president of Washington College since 1782, four of whom have been interim presidents.[c] Of the 31 presidents only one, Joseph McLain, was an alumnus of the college and only one, Sheila Bair, was a woman. The presidents of the college have been drawn from a variety of areas including religion, military service, governmental service, and academia. Six Washington College presidents were ordained in the Episcopal Church or the Methodist Protestant Church before their term. Several were also the rector of Emanuel Parish in Chestertown concurrent to their term as president. Washington College presidents have come from many parts of public life. Two were engaged in military service before their term and four were in public service. A singular president, Kurt M. Landgraf, was working in the private sector before his term. Most of the remaining presidents were academics before becoming president of the college. Three were presidents of other colleges, eight were academic administrators, five were faculty members at other colleges, and three were faculty members at Washington College before their terms.

Principals and presidents of Washington College[edit]

  • A "–" indicates that the individual served as Interim President.
# Photo Name Term begin Term end Previous experience Notes Ref(s)
1
White male with gray hair in academic robes with preaching tabs
 William Smith 1782 1789 Priest in the Episcopal Church
Provost of the Academy and College of Philadelphia 		Founder of Washington College and St. John's College. [5]
2
Profile of a male's head
 Colin Ferguson 1792 1805 Priest in the Episcopal Church
Professor of Languages, Mathematics, and Natural Philosophy at Washington College 		[6]
– – – 1805 1813 – The name of the principal between 1805 and 1813 is unknown. [7]
3 Hugh McGuire 1813 1815 Teacher at St. John's College[d] [8]
4 Joab G. Cooper 1816 1817 Priest in the Episcopal Church [9]
–[e] Gerard E. Stack 1817 1818 Temporary professor of Greek and Latin at Dickinson College [10][11][12]
5
White male in a dark suit holding a book
 Francis Waters 1818 1823 Minister in the Methodist Protestant Church Also the 9th Principal of Washington College [13]
6
White male in a dark cassock with preaching tabs
 Timothy Clowes 1823 1829 Priest in the Episcopal Church [14]
7
White male with dark hair and long sideburns in a dark suit sitting at a desk with an open book
 Peter Clark 1829 1832 "spent three years at Dartmouth College" [15][16]
8 Richard W. Ringgold 1832 1854 Member of the Maryland House of Delegates [17]
9
White male in a dark suit holding a book
 Francis Waters 1854 1860 Minister in the Methodist Protestant Church Also the 5th Principal of Washington College [18]
10 Andrew J. Sutton 1860 1867 Priest in the Episcopal Church
Professor of Ancient and Modern Languages at Washington College 		[19]
11 Robert C. Berkeley 1867 1873  Served in the Confederate Army as a Quartermaster Sergeant in Longstreet's Corps [20]
12
White male with dark hair in a dark suit
 William J. Rivers 1873 1887 Professor of Greek at the University of South Carolina [21][22]
13 Thomas N. Williams 1887 1889 Superintendent of Delaware Public Schools [23][24]
14
Mostly bald white male with a large goatee in a dark suit
 Charles W. Reid 1889 1903 Professor of Greek and German at St. John's College [25][26]
15
White male with white hair and a mustache in a dark suit
 James W. Cain 1903 1918 Professor of English and Political Economy at St. John's College [27]
16 Clarence P. Gould 1919 1923 Professor of History at College of Wooster The title of the chief executive of Washington College changed from Principal to President in 1922 [28]
17
White male with dark hair in a dark suit
 Paul E. Titsworth 1923 1933 Dean of the College of Liberal Arts at Alfred University [29]
18
White male with dark hair and a thin beard in a dark suit
 Gilbert W. Mead 1933 1949 Dean of Birmingham–Southern College [30]
–[f]
=White male in dark suit
 Fredrick G. Livingood 1949 1950 Dean of Washington College and Professor of Education at Washington College [31]
19
White male in academic dress wearing a mortarboard
 Daniel Z. Gibson 1950 1970 Dean of Franklin & Marshall College [32]
20 Charles J. Merdinger 1970 1973 Commanding Officer of the Western Division of the Naval Facilities Engineering Command [33]
21
White male with dark hair in a tan suit
 Joseph McLain 1973 1981 Professor of Chemistry at Washington College Only alumnus of Washington College to become president. [34]
–
White male with dark hair and large dark glasses in a white shirt and dark tie
 Garry E. Clarke 1981 1982 Dean of Washington College and a professor of Music at Washington College [35]
22
White male in profile
 Douglass Cater 1982 1990 Vice Chairman of the London Observer
Special Assistant to Lyndon B. Johnson 		[36]
23 Charles H. Trout 1990 1995 Provost of Colgate University [37]
24 John S. Toll 1995 2004 President of Stony Brook University
Chancellor of the University System of Maryland 		[38]
25 Baird Tipson 2004 2010 President of Wittenberg University
President of Gettysburg College 		[39]
26
White male with dark hair in a gray suit with an American flag in the background
 Mitchell Reiss 2010 2014 United States Special Envoy for Northern Ireland [39][40]
– Jay Griswold 2014 2015 Chair of the Washington College Board of Visitors and Governors [41]
27
White woman with blonde hair in a green jacket and orange shirt
 Sheila Bair 2015 2017 Chair of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation [42]
28 Kurt M. Landgraf 2017 2020 CEO of DuPont
Member of the New Jersey Commission on Higher Education 		[43][44]
– Wayne B. Powell 2020 2021 President of Lenoir-Rhyne University [45]
29 Michael J. Sosulski 2021 Provost of Wofford College Current officeholder [46]

Timeline[edit]

       Principal of Washington College •        Acting Principal of Washington College •        President of Washington College •        Acting President of Washington College

References[edit]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ The 1922 change to Washington College's Charter changed the official title of the office (Dumschott 1980, p. 180), but Watts (1894, p. 94) first refers to the position as the president with Charles W. Reid's election in 1889 and Dumschott (1980, p. 146) starts using president and principal interchangeably with James W. Cain's election in 1903.
  2. ^ In contemporary documents such as Thompson (2000), the college refers to William Smith as the first president of the college. Dumschott (1980) and primary documents from the era, however, refer to him as the first principal.
  3. ^ It is unknown who the principal was between 1805 and 1813.
  4. ^ Hugh McGuire's academic rank and area of study is unknown.
  5. ^ Gerard E. Stack is referred to as an Interim President by Watts (1894), Dumschott (1980), and Thompson (2000), however the college's website calls him the 5th president. Because of this, the numbering here conflicts with the numbering that Washington College uses.
  6. ^ Fredrick G. Livingood is referred to as an Interim President by Dumschott (1980), but is not listed on Washington College's website.

Citations[edit]

  1. ^ Dumschott 1980, pp. 9–10
  2. ^ a b Dumschott 1980, p. 180
  3. ^ a b Spire, Linda J. (6 December 2008). "The By-Laws of Washington College". Washington College. pp. 12–13. Retrieved 2 April 2020.[permanent dead link]
  4. ^ Williams, Lynn (15 September 1991). "Chestertown's Historic Hynson-Ringgold House". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved 2 April 2020.
  5. ^ Dumschott 1980, pp. 10–25
  6. ^ Dumschott 1980, pp. 26–32
  7. ^ Dumschott 1980, p. 33
  8. ^ Dumschott 1980, p. 34
  9. ^ Dumschott 1980, pp. 35–38
  10. ^ Dumschott 1980, p. 38
  11. ^ Thompson 2000, p. 21
  12. ^ "Gerard E. Stack". Office of the President. Washington College. Archived from the original on 29 April 2015. Retrieved 31 March 2020.
  13. ^ Dumschott 1980, p. 39
  14. ^ Dumschott 1980, pp. 43–51
  15. ^ Dumschott 1980, p. 52
  16. ^ Watts 1894, p. 88
  17. ^ Dumschott 1980, pp. 52–65
  18. ^ Dumschott 1980, pp. 67–78
  19. ^ Dumschott 1980, pp. 81–87
  20. ^ Dumschott 1980, p. 87
  21. ^ Dumschott 1980, pp. 91–105
  22. ^ Watts 1894, p. 92
  23. ^ Dumschott 1980, pp. 107–111
  24. ^ Watts 1894, p. 93
  25. ^ Dumschott 1980, pp. 113–135
  26. ^ Watts 1894, p. 94
  27. ^ Dumschott 1980, pp. 136–164
  28. ^ Dumschott 1980, pp. 167–183
  29. ^ Dumschott 1980, pp. 184–210
  30. ^ Dumschott 1980, pp. 212–231
  31. ^ Dumschott 1980, p. 234
  32. ^ Dumschott 1980, pp. 235–216
  33. ^ "Obituary: Charles J. Merdinger". Sierra Sun. 11 February 2014. Archived from the original on 15 February 2020. Retrieved 15 February 2020.
  34. ^ Dennison, Sandy (27 July 1981). "Washington College president Joseph H. McLain dies at 65". The News Journal. Archived from the original on 15 February 2020. Retrieved 15 February 2020.
  35. ^ "Garry Clarke". The Star Democrat. 5 July 2016. Archived from the original on 15 February 2020. Retrieved 15 February 2020.
  36. ^ Thomas Jr, Robert (16 September 1995). "Douglass Cater Is Dead at 72; Educator and Presidential Aide". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 15 February 2020. Retrieved 15 February 2020.
  37. ^ Rasmussen, Frederick N. (30 September 2006). "Charles H. Trout, 70, former Washington College president". The Baltimore Sun. Archived from the original on 15 February 2020. Retrieved 15 February 2020.
  38. ^ Bowie, Liz (15 July 2011). "University of Maryland's founding chancellor John Toll dies". The Baltimore Sun. Archived from the original on 19 July 2019. Retrieved 15 February 2020.
  39. ^ a b Heck, Peter (4 December 2009). "Reiss selected to succeed Tipson as Washington College president". My Eastern Shore MD. Archived from the original on 5 May 2020. Retrieved 15 February 2020.
  40. ^ "Washington College president, ex-W&M leader named Colonial Williamsburg Foundation president". Richmond Times Dispatch. 14 June 2014. Archived from the original on 15 February 2020. Retrieved 15 February 2020.
  41. ^ Sharrow, Ryan (14 July 2014). "Washington College names Jay Griswold as interim president". Baltimore Business Journal. Archived from the original on 5 May 2020. Retrieved 15 February 2020.
  42. ^ Seltzer, Rick (2 June 2017). "Bair Resigns From Washington College". Inside Higher Ed. Archived from the original on 13 February 2020. Retrieved 13 February 2020.
  43. ^ Campbell, Colin (5 June 2017). "Former DuPont executive brings management experience to new role as Washington College president". The Baltimore Sun. Archived from the original on 13 February 2020. Retrieved 13 February 2020.
  44. ^ McGee, Trish (1 June 2020). "Landgraf leaving as college president after 3 years; dean also stepping down". Kent County News. My Eastern Shore MD. Retrieved 3 June 2020.
  45. ^ McGee, Trish (10 August 2020). "Washington College finds interim in Lenoir-Rhyne president emeritus". Kent County News. My Eastern Shore MD. Retrieved 11 August 2020.
  46. ^ "College picks Wofford provost as new president". KPVI. 5 August 2011. Retrieved 7 August 2021.

Bibliography[edit]

  • Dumschott, Fred W. (1980). Washington College. Chestertown: Washington College. Retrieved 13 February 2020.
  • Thompson, William L. (2000). Landskroener, Marcia C. (ed.). Washington: The College at Chester. Chestertown: Literary House Press of Washington College. Retrieved 15 February 2020.
  • Watts, Rowland (1894). "Washington College (1782–1894)". In Adams, Herbert (ed.). History of Education in Maryland. Washington: United States Bureau of Education.

External links[edit]

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