The president of Tufts University is the chief administrator of the university and is appointed by the chair of the Board of Trustees of Tufts College.[1] The president is appointed by the board who leads and directs the university. The current incumbent is Sunil Kumar.
| Image | President | Tufts class | Life | Tenure | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | – | 1796–1861 | 1853–1860 | Tufts College is established in Medford, MA (1852) on Walnut Hill. | |||
| – | Oliver Dean[2] | – | 1783–1871 | 1860–1862 | (acting president); founded Dean Academy in 1865 | ||
| 2 | Alonzo Ames Miner | – | 1814–1895 | 1862–1875 | Expansion and Civil War | ||
| 3 | Elmer Hewitt Capen | 1860 | 1838–1905 | 1875–1905 | First alum to be president | ||
| 4 | 1860 | 1860–1940 | 1905–1912 | Jackson College founded | |||
| – | 1877 | 1855–1918 | 1912–1914 | (acting president) | |||
| 5 | Hermon Carey Bumpus | 1905 | 1862–1943 | 1915–1919 | |||
| 6 | John Albert Cousens | 1898 | 1874–1937 | 1919–1937 | Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy founded | ||
| – | 1906 | 1884–1971 | 1937–1938 | (acting president) | |||
| 7 | Leonard Carmichael | 1920 | 1898–1973 | 1938–1952 | |||
| 8 | Nils Yngve Wessell | – | 1914–2007 | 1953–1966 | |||
| – | – | 1913–2002 | 1966–1967 | (acting president) | |||
| 9 | Burton Crosby Hallowell | – | 1915–2006 | 1967–1976 | |||
| 10 | Jean Mayer | – | 1920–1993 | 1976–1992 | |||
| 11 | John A. DiBiaggio | – | 1932–2020 | 1992–2001 | |||
| 12 | Lawrence S. Bacow[3] | – | 1951– | 2001–2011 | |||
| 13 | Anthony Monaco[4] | – | 1959– | 2011–2023 | Tufts acquires the School of the Museum of Fine Arts | ||
| 14 | Sunil Kumar | – | 2023– |