List of presidents of the University of Pennsylvania explained

The following is a list of the presidents of the University of Pennsylvania, which began operating in 1751 as a secondary school, the Academy of Philadelphia, and added an institution of higher learning in 1755, the College of Philadelphia.

	Provost^[1]	Birth–death	Years as provost	Name of institution	Notes
1	The Reverend George Whitefield^[2]	1714–1770	1740–1749	Unnamed Charity School^[3]
2	Benjamin Franklin^[4]	1706–1790	1749–1754	Academy of Philadelphia
3		1727–1803	1754–1779	College of Philadelphia	American Revolution
4		1732–1802	1779–1802	University of Pennsylvania	American Revolution
5		1751–1820	1802–1806	University of Pennsylvania
6	The Reverend John McDowell	1732–1802	1807–1810	University of Pennsylvania
7		1746–1813	1810–1813	University of Pennsylvania
8		1777–1845	1813–1828	University of Pennsylvania
9		1797–1865	1828–1834	University of Pennsylvania
10		1793–1857	1834–1852	University of Pennsylvania
11		1790–1866	1853–1859	University of Pennsylvania
13		1811–1890	1860–1868	University of Pennsylvania
14		1819–1899	1868–1880	University of Pennsylvania
15		1843–1898	1881–1894	University of Pennsylvania
16		1844–1929	1894–1910	University of Pennsylvania
17		1854–1928	1910–1920	University of Pennsylvania
18		1868–1940	1923–1930	University of Pennsylvania

	Presidents of the University of Pennsylvania	Years as president	Notes
1		1930–1944
2		1944–1948
3		1948–1953
-		1953–1953, Acting President
4		1953–1970
5		1970–1981
6		1981–1993
-		1993–1994, Interim President
7		1994–2004
8		2004–2022
-		2022–2022, Interim President
9		2022–2023	Shortest tenure
-	J. Larry Jameson	2023-Present, Interim President

Notes and References

1. Penn became a degree-granting institution of higher learning in 1755. In preparation for this expansion in mission, William Smith was hired in 1754 to become the new provost. Neither George Whitefield nor Benjamin Franklin formally held this title.
2. [Benjamin Franklin]
3. As described in more detail in the appended notes, a charity school was planned by followers of George Whitefield but it never opened before the building was purchased by Benjamin Franklin's group in 1750. The structure itself was known as the "New Building" but the associated educational trust itself was never named.
4. Franklin's formal title was president of the board of trustees, first of the "Academy and Charitable School in the Province of Pennsylvania" until the college was founded, and then of the "College, Academy and Charity School of Philadelphia in Pennsylvania."