1943–
In his inaugural address, IU’s 17th president noted that “the opportunity before us is to shape and lay the stones that will serve as the foundation for expansions and additions, new spires and buttresses of this magnificent cathedral of learning.” He did so by overseeing transformative initiatives in teaching, research, and public engagement.
1942–2009
Myles Brand became Indiana University’s sixteenth president on August 1, 1994. He presided over a period of remarkable growth at IU, including record student enrollments and national leadership in information technology and the life sciences, while maintaining the university’s traditional strengths in the arts and humanities.
1934–
Thomas Ehrlich served seven years as the president of Indiana University after posts in government and the Ivy League. Though his academic background was in private institutions, he chose to lead a public university because of the responsibilities and challenges of providing both broad access and quality education.
1929–2011
John William Ryan became Indiana University’s fourteenth president on January 26, 1971. His 16 years of service to the university saw the establishment of IU campuses in New Albany and Richmond, the formation of various cultural centers on the Bloomington campus, and the journalism school becoming a systemwide entity.
1924–1972
Joseph Lee Sutton was an academic presence on the Indiana University Bloomington campus for 13 years before being named president in 1968. His tenure saw the dedication of the IU Main Library in 1970.
1916–1998
Elvis J. Stahr Jr. became Indiana University’s twelfth president in 1962 after serving as the secretary of the Army during the first two years of the Kennedy administration. Stahr’s presidency saw the Gary and Calumet campuses combined to form IU Northwest, the joint IU–Purdue University campus established in Fort Wayne, the founding of the School of Library and Information Science, and the affiliation of the Herron School of Art in Indianapolis with IU.
1902–2000
In 1938, Herman B Wells was named Indiana University’s eleventh president, and at the age of 35, was the country’s youngest state university president. He served as president for a quarter century and remained a vital contributor as IU chancellor for another 37 years.
1860–1955
William Lowe Bryan, Indiana University’s tenth president, was born on a farm near Bloomington, Indiana. He succeeded Joseph Swain as president in 1902 and led the institution for 35 years until 1937, at which time he retired as president emeritus at the age of 76. Bryan presided over the transformation of IU from a small, traditional liberal arts college into a modern research university.
1857–1927
Joseph Swain was IU’s first Indiana-born president. A native of Pendleton, Indiana, he attended IU as an undergraduate and graduate student, and began his teaching career in IU’s departments of mathematics and biology. He left his professorship at IU in 1891 to follow departing IU president David Starr Jordan to Stanford University. He returned to IU as president in 1893, a position he held for nine years.
1851–1928
Born in China to American missionary, parents, John Merle Coulter was a three-time graduate of Hanover College. He accepted the position of president and professor of botany at Indiana University in 1891. Perhaps the heaviest responsibility during his administration was replacing the faculty members that followed past-president David Starr Jordan to Stanford University.
1851–1931
On January 1, 1885, 34-year-old David Starr Jordan was inaugurated as the seventh president of Indiana University. Jordan was an outstanding scientist and the first layman to be named president of IU.
1829–1904
In September 1875, the Reverend Lemuel Moss, a Baptist minister, came to Indiana University as its sixth president. During his administration the curriculum was expanded and there was an attempt to reduce faculty teaching loads and increase professorial salaries.
1814–1875
Cyrus Nutt was elected to be Indiana University’s fifth president in 1860 and was installed on June 27, 1861. IU became coeducational during Nutt’s administration, admitting its first female student in 1867. Nutt led the university for 15 years before resigning in 1875.
1799–1866
After serving as the first president of the University of Missouri and the first chancellor of the University of Wisconsin, John Lathrop was named as Indiana University’s fourth president in 1859.
1812–1877
After serving one and a half days as a trustee of Indiana University, the Reverend William Daily was elected IU’s third president on August 2, 1853. He resigned under pressure on January 26, 1859.
1812–1858
Alfred Ryors was appointed the second president of Indiana University on June 3, 1852. He had been a mathematics professor at IU from 1843 through 1848, but left Indiana to assume the presidency of Ohio University in 1848, a position he held for four years.
1789–1851
On October 19, 1829, the Reverend Andrew Wylie was inaugurated as the first president of Indiana College. Wylie was the third member of the faculty and taught classes in moral and mental philosophy and literature. He guided the school through an important time of transition as the state legislature rechartered the college as Indiana University in 1838.
