The following is a list of presidents of Central Philippine University from its founding in 1905 up to the present.[1] The president is required by the university to be of the Baptist or any Protestant denomination:
| President | Life | Tenure | Events | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 1862–1928 | 1905-1906; 1907-1914 | Established a Bible School in the City of Iloilo (June 1905) and later the Jaro Industrial School (1905). Women were admitted to the Jaro Industrial School (1913). Both two schools was founded after the succession of the Philippines from Spain to the United States through the Treaty of Paris (1898). | ||
| 2. | Charles L. Maxfield | - | 1906-1907 | ||
| 3. | Francis Howard Rose | - | 1914-1916; 1938-1941 | ||
| 4. | Henry Weston Munger | - | 1916-1917 | ||
| 5. | Mary Jane Thomas | - | 1917-1918 | First female head (Principal) of Central. | |
| 6. | Alton Ezra Bigelow | - | 1918-1922 | ||
| 7. | Harland Francis Chandler Stuart | - | 1922-1938 | The Jaro Industrial School merged with the Bible School and became a junior college (Central Philippine College) (1923). Central Philippine College became a senior college (1936). | |
| 8. | R. Fred Hertling Chambers | - | 1941-1942 | ||
| 9. | Joseph Morris Rickey Forbes | - | 1947-1950 | ||
| 10. | Peter Hugh James Lerrigo | - | 1950-1952 | ||
| 11. | Almus Oliver Larsen | - | 1952-1956; 1957-1961 | Central Philippine College was given a university charter from the Philippine government (1953). | |
| 12. | Linnea Agnes Nelson[2] | - | 1956-1957; 1965-1966 | The first female president of Central. | |
| 13. | Joseph Turner Howard | - | 1961-1965 | The last long line of Baptist missionary, white (European) and American presidents. | |
| 14. | Rex Divinagracia Drilon | - | 1966-1971 | The first Filipino and alum to be president (1966). The Filipinization of Central where the university properties was turned over by the American Baptist Foreign Mission Society to the Filipinos (1968) | |
| 15. | Agustin Aguilar Pulido | - | 1971-1996 | The first president associated with the Presbyterian Church. He became also the president of Silliman University. | |
| 16. | Juanito Maca Acanto | - | 1996 -2008 | The first lawyer by profession president. | |
| 17. | Teodoro Canillas Robles | - | 2008–2023 | First President by Electrical Engineering profession and Fourth Filipino President.[3] [4] [5] | |
| 18. | Ernest Howard Dagohoy | - | 2023-Present | First Pastor President and Fifth Filipino President.[6] |
Note: Postwar (1945-1947) heads - Urbano F. Nequin (Postwar Reopening Managing Committee: Chairman, Registrar) and May A. Coggins (Faculty Council: Chairman) are not included.