Since the college's founding in 1846, Grinnell College has had thirteen presidents and seven temporary acting presidents. A college president is responsible for all aspects of the institution's internal and external affairs, including administrative and academic decision-making.[1]
While Iowa College, later renamed Grinnell College, did not have a president for the first years of its existence, after the Civil War, the trustees chose fellow trustee George Frederic Magoun to lead the institution as it matured. From his inauguration in 1865, Magoun served 19 years, the second-longest presidential tenure in the college's history.[2]
The current Grinnell College president is Anne F. Harris, who replaced president Raynard S. Kington to become the 14th president of the College on July 14, 2020.[3]
| The Trustees of Iowa College | 1846–1865 | |||
| 1865–1884 | ||||
| 1884–1887 | (acting) | |||
| 1887–1900 | ||||
| 1900–1902 | (acting) | |||
| 1902–1905 | ||||
| 1905–1931 | (acting in first academic year) | |||
| 1931–1940 | ||||
| Samuel Nowell Stevens | 1940–1954 | |||
| 1954–1955 | (acting) | |||
| 1955–1964 | ||||
| 1964–1965 | (acting) | |||
| 1965–1975 | also President Emeritus of the College 1979–2003 | |||
| 1975–1979 | ||||
| 1979–1991 | also President Emeritus of the College 2005– | |||
| 1987 | (acting) | |||
| 1991–1997 | ||||
| 1998 | (acting) | |||
| 1998–2010 | ||||
| 2010–2020 | ||||
| Anne F. Harris[5] | 2020–present |