| Post: | President |
| Body: | San José State University |
| Insignia: | SJSU Seal.svg |
| Insigniasize: | 110 |
| Incumbent: | Cynthia Teniente-Matson |
| Department: | San José State University |
| First: | George W. Minns |
| Salary: | $474,840[1] |
The President of San José State University is the chief administrator of the university.
San José State University is a public university in San Jose, California. Established in 1857 and originally known as the Minns' Evening Normal School, SJSU is the oldest public university in the state of California. The university offers bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees through its 7 colleges and schools. With a total student enrollment of about 36,000, SJSU is one of the largest universities in the United States.
Thirty-two people have led San Jose State since its founding including eight principals, 15 presidents, five acting presidents, and four interim presidents.[2] The longest-serving president of the university was Thomas William MacQuarrie, who held the office for twenty five years from 1927 to 1952. The shortest-serving president of the university was Paul Yu who held the office for two weeks between July and August 2004.
The current president of San José State University is Cynthia Teniente-Matson, assuming the position on January 16, 2023.
The following individuals have held the Office of President of San José State University. Before 1899, the officeholder was referred to as the Principal, but has since been referred to as the President. Modern names of educational institutions are used.
| No. | President | Term of office | Education | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | data-sort-value="Mercer, Asa Shinn" | George W. Minns (1813–1895) | 1857–1862 (5 years) |
| Founder of Minns' Evening Normal School | |
| 2 | data-sort-value="Barnard, William Edward" | Ahira Holmes (1823–1902) | 1862–1865 (3 years) |
| ||
| 1 | data-sort-value="Whitworth, George Frederick" | George W. Minns (1813–1895) | 1865–1866 (11 months) |
| Founder of Minns' Evening Normal School | |
| 3 | data-sort-value="Hall, John Henry" | Henry P. Carlton (1821–1909) | 1866–1867 (1 year) |
| ||
| 4 | data-sort-value="Hill, Eugene Kincaid" | George E. Tait (1831–1888) | 1867–1868 (8 months) |
| ||
| 3 | data-sort-value="Thayer, Mary W." | Henry P. Carlton (1821–1909) | 1868–1868 (4 months) |
| ||
| 5 | data-sort-value="Whitworth, George Frederick" | William T. Lucky (1821–1876) | 1868–1873 (5 years) |
| ||
| 6 | data-sort-value="Anderson, Alexander Jay" | Charles H. Allen (1828–1904) | 1873–1889 (16 years) | Namesake of Allen Hall, demolished in 2003[5] | ||
| 7 | data-sort-value="Powell, Leonard Jackson" | Charles W. Childs (1844–1922) | 1889–1896 (7 years) |
| ||
| 8 | data-sort-value="Gatch, Thomas Milton" | Ambrose Randall (1839–1900) | 1896–1899 (3 years) |
| ||
| 9 | data-sort-value="Harrington, Mark Walrod" | James McNaughton (1837–1908) | 1899–1900 (1 year) |
| ||
| 10 | data-sort-value="Edwards, William Franklin" | Morris Elmer Dailey (1867–1919) | 1900–1918 (18 years) |
| Namesake of the Morris Dailey Auditorium in Tower Hall | |
| 11 | data-sort-value="Reeves, Charles Francis" | Lewis Ben Wilson (1854–1924) | 1919–1920 (1 year) |
| Acting president | |
| 12 | data-sort-value="Graves, Frank Pierrepont" | William Webb Kemp (1873–1946) | 1920–1923 (3 years) |
| ||
| 13 | data-sort-value="Kane, Thomas Franklin" | Alexander Richard Heron (1891–1965) | 1923–1923 (3 months) |
| Acting president | |
| 14 | data-sort-value="Landes, Henry" | Edwin Reagan Snyder (1872–1925) | 1923–1925 (2 years) |
| Died in office | |
| 15 | data-sort-value="Suzzallo, Henry" | Herman F. Minnsen (1890–1943) | 1925–1927 (2 years) |
| Acting president | |
| 16 | data-sort-value="Thomson, David" | Thomas William MacQuarrie (1879–1963) | 1927–1952 (25 years) |
| Longest term of office at 25 yearsNamesake of MacQuarrie Hall | |
| 17 | data-sort-value="Spencer, Matthew Lyle" | John T. Wahlquist (1899–1990) | 1952–1964 (12 years) |
| Namesake of the Wahlquist Library, demolished in 2000[8] | |
| 18 | data-sort-value="Winkenwerder, Hugo" | Robert D. Clark (1910–2005) | 1964–1969 (5 years) |
| Namesake of Robert D. Clark Hall(formerly Clark Library) | |
| 19 | data-sort-value="Sieg, Lee Paul" | Hobert W. Burns (1910–2005) | 1969–1970 (1 year) |
| Acting president | |
| 20 | data-sort-value="Allen, Raymond B." | John H. Bunzel (1924–2018) | 1970–1978 (8 years) |
| ||
| 21 | data-sort-value="Everest, H. P." | Gail Fullerton (1927–2016) | 1978–1991 (13 years) |
| First female president | |
| 22 | data-sort-value="Schmitz, Henry" | — | J. Handel Evans (born 1938) | 1991–1994 (3 years) |
| Acting president |
| 23 | data-sort-value="Odegaard, Charles Edwin" | Robert L. Caret (born 1947) | 1995–2003 (8 years) |
| Namesake of Robert L. Caret Plaza[17] | |
| 24 | data-sort-value="Cartwright, Philip W." | — | Joseph N. Crowley (1933–2017) | 2003–2004 (1 year) |
| Interim president |
| 25 | data-sort-value="Hogness, John R." | — | Paul Yu (1941–2016) | 2004–2004 (2 weeks) |
| Shortest term of office at 2 weeksFirst Asian president |
| 26 | Don W. Kassing (born 1941) | 2004–2005 (1 year) |
| Interim president | ||
| 2005–2008 (3 years) | ||||||
| 27 | data-sort-value="Huntsman, Lee L." | — | Jon Whitmore (born 1945) | 2008–2010 (2 years) |
| |
| 26 | data-sort-value="Emmert, Mark" | Don W. Kassing (born 1941) | 2010–2011 (1 year) |
| Interim president | |
| 28 | data-sort-value="Wise, Phyllis" | Mohammad Qayoumi (born 1952) | 2011–2015 (4 years) |
| First Middle Eastern president | |
| 29 | data-sort-value="Young, Michael Kent" | Susan W. Martin (born 1950) | 2015–2016 (11 months) |
| Interim president | |
| 30 | Mary A. Papazian (born 1959) | 2016–2021 (5 years) |
| |||
| 31 | — | Stephen Perez (born 1967) | 2022–2023 (1 year) |
| Interim president | |
| 32 | Cynthia Teniente-Matson (born 1965) | 2023–present |
| First Hispanic president | ||