President of Texas A&M University

Head of Texas A&M University

The president of Texas A&M University is the chief officer of the academic administration of Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas. Forty one people—thirty nine men and two women—have held this office, including those who were in the position when it was named Chairman of the Faculty between 1883 1890, and those who held the position in an acting or interim capacity. As of December 12, 2023, Mark A. Welsh III is the 27th president of Texas A&M University. Welsh was serving as the dean of the Bush School of Government and Public Service before he was appointed as acting president by Texas A&M University System Chancellor John Sharp on July 21, following the resignation of M. Katherine Banks. Welsh became interim president on July 30. Later, on November 17, 2023, Welsh was named the sole finalist for the position of President of Texas A&M University, after a unanimous vote by the Texas A&M University System Board of Regents. TOC

On October 4, 1876, on the recommendation of former Confederate president Jefferson Davis after he had declined the position, Thomas Sanford Gathright became the first president of the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas (the future Texas A&M University). At the inauguration of the college, Gathright stated to those assembledTo the full success of the college, I can promise the best efforts of my colleagues in the faculty, as I pledge my own. They may not be the proper men to work out success, and may be called to give place to others. I may not be suited to my place, and may retire; still this great work, in which all the people of this good state are interested, must go on and must succeed. Following an investigation into the college’s adherence to the Morrill Act of 1862, he was fired on November 21, 1879, by the Board of Directors. As a land grant college under the Morrill Act, the curriculum at A&M College was meant to focus on agricultural and mechanical studies, and to teach military tactics. Gathright had personally favored the classical studies and disliked the military procedures. He also did not get along with some members of the faculty. Gathright's administration also faced the burden of organizing the college, an undefined curriculum, a shortage of student housing, and enrollment difficulties.

The list of Texas A&M University presidents includes the previous presidents, and Chairmen of the Faculty of the Agricultural & Mechanical College of Texas. It also includes those that served in an acting or interim capacity. Portrait President Title Start of term End of term Thomas Sanford Gathright President July 15, 1876 November 21, 1879 John Garland James President November 22, 1879 April 1, 1883 James Reid Cole Acting President April 1, 1883 June 26, 1883 President June 26, 1883 July 19, 1883 Hardaway Hunt Dinwiddie Chairman of the Faculty July 23, 1883 December 11, 1887 Louis Lowry McInnis Chairman of the Faculty January 24, 1888 July 1, 1890 William Stuart Lorraine Bringhurst Acting President July 1, 1890 January 20, 1891 Lawrence Sullivan Ross President January 20, 1891 January 3, 1898 Roger Haddock Whitlock Acting President January 3, 1898 July 1, 1898 Lafayette Lumpkin Foster President July 1, 1898 December 2, 1901 Roger Haddock Whitlock Acting President December 10, 1901 July 1, 1902 David Franklin Houston President July 1, 1902 September 1, 1905 Henry Hill Harrington President September 8, 1905 August 7, 1908 Robert Teague Milner President September 1, 1908 October 1, 1913 Charles Puryear Acting President September 1, 1913 August 24, 1914 William Bennett Bizzell President August 25, 1914 September 1, 1925 Thomas Otto Walton President September 3, 1925 August 7, 1943 Frank Cleveland Bolton Acting President August 9, 1943 May 27, 1944 Gibb Gilchrist President May 27, 1944 September 1, 1948 Frank Cleveland Bolton President September 1, 1948 June 3, 1950 Marion Thomas Harrington Acting President June 3, 1950 September 1, 1953 David Hitchens Morgan President September 1, 1953 December 21, 1956 David Willard Williams Acting President December 22, 1956 September 1, 1957 Marion Thomas Harrington President September 1, 1957 July 1, 1959 James Earl Rudder President July 1, 1959 March 23, 1970 Alvin Roubal Luedecke Acting President March 30, 1970 November 1, 1970 Jack Kenny Williams President November 1, 1970 July 31, 1977 Jarvis Ernest Miller President August 1, 1977 July 10, 1980 Charles Harold Samson Jr. Acting President July 10, 1980 August 31, 1981 Frank Everson Vandiver President September 1, 1981 August 31, 1988 William Hodges Mobley President September 1, 1988 August 31, 1993 E. Dean Gage Acting President September 1, 1993 June 1, 1994 Ray M. Bowen President July 1, 1994 July 31, 2002 Robert M. Gates President August 1, 2002 December 18, 2006 Ed J. Davis Interim President December 18, 2006 January 3, 2008 Elsa A. Murano President January 3, 2008 June 15, 2009 R. Bowen Loftin Interim President June 15, 2009 February 12, 2010 President February 12, 2010 January 13, 2014 Mark A. Hussey Interim President January 14, 2014 April 30, 2015 Michael K. Young President May 1, 2015 December 31, 2020 John L. Junkins Interim President January 1, 2021 May 31, 2021 M. Katherine Banks President June 1, 2021 July 20, 2023 Mark A. Welsh III Acting President July 21, 2023 July 30, 2023 Interim President July 30, 2023 December 12, 2023 President December 12, 2023 present