List of presidents of the University of Tulsa

This is a list of the presidents of the University of Tulsa.

Presidents

University of Tulsa Presidents

#	Name	Years served	Comments
--	William Addison Caldwell	1894–1896	First President of Henry Kendall College (Muskogee).[1][2][3]
--	William Robert King	1896–1899	Founder, and second President of Henry Kendall College (Muskogee).[1][2][3]
1	A. Grant Evans	1899–1908	Last President of Henry Kendall College (Muskogee), first President of Henry Kendall College (Tulsa) after the move from Muskogee to Tulsa in 1907.[1][2][3] Became the second president of the University of Oklahoma.
2	Levi Harrison Beeler	1908–1909	President of Henry Kendall College (Tulsa).[1][2][3]
3	Seth Reed Gordon	1909–1911	President of Henry Kendall College (Tulsa), First President Emeritus.[1][2][3]
4	Frederick William Hawley	1911–1915	President of Henry Kendall College (Tulsa).[1][2][3]
5	Ralph J. Lamb	1915–1916	President of Henry Kendall College (Tulsa).[1][2][3]
6	Charles Evans	1916–1917	President of Henry Kendall College (Tulsa).[1][2][3]
7	James Gilmer McMurtry	1917–1918	President of Henry Kendall College (Tulsa).[1][2][3]
8	Arthur Lee Odell	1918–1920	President of Henry Kendall College (Tulsa).[1][2][3]
9	James Marcus Gordon	1920–1924	President of Henry Kendall College (Tulsa). First president after formation of the University of Tulsa from Henry Kendall College in 1921.[1][2][3]
10	Franklin Geselbracht Dill	1924–1927	Dean and Acting president (1924-1926), President (1926-1927)[2][3][4]
--	John Duncan Finlayson	1927–1934	Title was Chancellor.[2][5]
--	Ralph L. Langenheim	1934–1935 (Acting President)	[6] Vice President 1934 - 1936.[2]
11	Clarence Isiah Pontius	1935–1959	Longest serving president (24 years).[2][5][6][7]
12	Ben Graf Henneke	1959–1968	Only University of Tulsa alumnus to serve as president.[2][5]
13	Eugene Laurrel Swearingen	1967–1968	Previously was vice president of Oklahoma State University. Resigned from University of Tulsa presidency to become president of Bank of Oklahoma. In 1982, he joined Oral Roberts University, where he remained until his death in 2002.[2][8]
14	Joseph Paschal Twyman	1968–1990	Second longest serving president (22 years); died in office.[2][5]
--	Michael W. Davis	1990 (Interim)	Died in office
--	E. Joe Middlebrooks	1990 (Interim)
15	Robert Donaldson	1990–1996	[5][9]
16	Robert W. Lawless	1996–2004	[5][10][11]
17	Steadman Upham	2004–2012	Retirement effective in 2012 was announced during 2011.[5]
18	Geoffrey Orsak	July 2012 – September 2012	Former dean of the Lyle School of Engineering at SMU, appointment effective July 1, 2012;[12] his termination was announced on September 12, 2012[13]
19	Steadman Upham	October 2012 – November 2016
20	Gerard Clancy	November 2016 - present	Claney joined TU as the Dean of College of Health Sciences in 2014 after six years as provost and eight years as president of University of Oklahoma-Tulsa. [14]

References

1. "Henry Kendall College Bulletin"
2. Logsdon, Guy William. "The University of Tulsa: a history from 1882-1972." Norman, Okla.; 1975.
3. Delfraisse, Betty Dew. "The history of the University of Tulsa." Austin, Tex.: [S.l.], 1929.
4. "University of Tulsa Bulletin"
5. Carlson, Marc. "Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture: University of Tulsa." Accessed July 20, 2011.
6. Scott Cooper, "Pontius Pilot", Tulsa World, January 12, 1998. Retrieved July 20, 2011
7. TU Alumni 1930 - 1939
8. Oklahoma Higher Education Heritage Society
9. Krehbiel, Randy. "Breaking Century Mark: University of Tulsa to Turn 100 on Monday", Tulsa World, September 11, 1994.
10. Krehbiel, Randy."TU Names New President", Tulsa World, February 20, 1996.
11. Omer Gillham, "TU president to retire in 2004", Tulsa World, September 20, 2003.
12. "University Of Tulsa Names New President", KOTV-DT, May 2, 2012.
13. "University of Tulsa announces firing of months-old president Orsak", KJRH-TV, September 12, 2012.
14. "Gerry Clancy to Become TU President Immediately", Tulsa World, November 1, 2016.