Twelve men have been the president or chancellor at East Carolina University. In 1972, ECU joined the UNC system, which changed the name of the chief administrator at East Carolina. The chancellor is chosen by the UNC board of governors on the recommendation of the UNC BOG president. Above the chancellor is the board of trustees. Four of the twelve trustees are picked by the governor of North Carolina. The student body president sits on the board ex officio.
| Name | Term begin | Term end | Notes | References | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Robert Herring Wright | 1909 | 1934 | |||
| 2 | Leon Renfroe Meadows | 1934 | 1944 | |||
| 3 | Howard Justus McGinnis | 1944 | 1946 | Interim | ||
| 4 | Dennis Hargrove Cooke | 1946 | 1947 | |||
| 5 | John Decatur Messick | 1947 | 1959 | |||
| 6 | Leo Warren Jenkins | 1960 | 1972 |
| Name | Term begin | Term end | Notes | References | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Leo Warren Jenkins | 1972 | 1978 | |||
| 2 | Thomas Bowman Brewer | 1978 | 1981 | |||
| 3 | John McDade Howell | 1982 | 1988 | |||
| 4 | Richard R. Eakin | 1988 | 2001 | |||
| 5 | William Muse | 2001 | 2003 | |||
| 6 | William E. Shelton | 2003 | 2004 | Interim | ||
| 7 | Steven Ballard | 2004 | 2016 | |||
| 8 | Cecil Staton | 2016 | 2019 | |||
| 9 | Daniel Gerlach | 2019 | 2019 | Interim | Interim | |
| 10 | Ron Mitchelson | 2019 | 2021 | Interim | Interim | |
| 11 | Philip Rogers | 2021 | - |