The President of Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey (also known as Rutgers University) is the chief administrator of Rutgers University and—in an ex officio capacity—a presiding officer within the University's 59-member Board of Trustees and its eleven-member Board of Governors. Appointed by these bodies to the post and delegated authority to run the day-to-day operation of the University, the President is responsible to those bodies alone.
The first president, Reverend Jacob Rutsen Hardenbergh, was appointed to the office in 1785—in the days when Rutgers was called Queen's College (1766-1824). Since then, nineteen men have served as president of the institution. The current president is Richard Levis McCormick (b. 1947), who has served in this position since 2002.
The following nineteen individuals have served as President of Rutgers University from the creation of the office in 1785 to the present. Those marked with their names in bold had graduated from Rutgers. Those marked with "↑" died in office. Where years don't overlap there was a gap of a few months while a suitable candidate was found, this usually occurred when someone died in office, or left unexpectedly to accept another position.
| President | Birth Year–Death Year | Years as President | Previous occupation(s) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jacob Rutsen Hardenbergh | (1735 – 1790) | (1785 – 1790)↑ | Dutch Reformed minister |
| 2 | William Linn | (1752 – 1808) | (1791 – 1795) | Presbyterian minister. |
| 3 | Ira Condict | (1764 – 1811) | (1795 – 1810) | Presbyterian/Dutch Reformed minister, Professor of Moral Philosophy |
| 4 | John Henry Livingston | (1746 – 1825) | (1810 – 1825)↑ | Dutch Reformed minister, Professor of Theology |
| 5 | Philip Milledoler | (1775 – 1852) | (1825 – 1840) | German Reformed minister |
| 6 | Abraham Bruyn Hasbrouck | (1791 – 1879) | (1840 – 1850) | Lawyer, Member of the U.S. House of Representatives |
| 7 | Theodore Frelinghuysen | (1787 – 1862) | (1850 – 1862)↑ | United States Senator, New Jersey Attorney General, 1844 Whig Vice-Presidential candidate |
| 8 | William Henry Campbell | (1808 – 1890) | (1862 – 1882) | Itinerant preacher, School Principal, Professor of Oriental Languages and "Belles Lettres" |
| 9 | Merrill Edward Gates | (1848 – 1922) | (1882 – 1890) | School Principal |
| 10 | Austin Scott | (1848 – 1922) | (1891 – 1906) | Historian, Professor of History, Political Economy, and Constitutional Law, and |
| 11 | William Henry Steele Demarest | (1863 – 1956) | (1906 – 1924) | Dutch Reformed minister, Professor of Ecclesiastical History and Church Government |
| 12 | John Martin Thomas | (1869 – 1952) | (1925 – 1930) | Presbyterian minister, College President |
| 13 | Philip Milledoler Brett | (1871 – 1960) | (1930 – 1931) | Corporate attorney |
| 14 | Robert Clarkson Clothier | (1885 – 1970) | (1932 – 1951) | Reporter for The Wall Street Journal, Publishing company manager, government bureaucrat, school headmaster. |
| 15 | Lewis Webster Jones | (1899 – 1975) | (1951 – 1958) | Professor of Economics |
| 16 | Mason Welch Gross | (1911 – 1977) | (1959 – 1971) | Professor of Philosophy, university administrator, television quiz show personality |
| 17 | Edward J. Bloustein | (1925 – 1989) | (1971 – 1989)↑ | Law professor, university president. |
| 18 | Francis L. Lawrence | (b. 1937) | (1990 – 2002) | Professor of French and Italian Literature |
| 19 | Richard Levis McCormick | (b. 1947) | (2002 – present) | History professor, university administrator |
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