President Steven Knapp

Past Presidents of the University

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Stephen Joel Trachtenberg
1988-Aug. 1, 2007

Stephen Joel Trachtenberg is President Emeritus and University Professor of Public Service. Stephen Joel Trachtenberg served as the 15th president of The George Washington University for nearly two decades, from 1988 to August 1, 2007. He came to GW from the University of Hartford (CT), where he had been president for 11 years. Before assuming the presidency of Hartford, Trachtenberg served for eight years at Boston University as vice president for academic services and academic dean of the College of Liberal Arts . Earlier, in Washington , D.C., he was a special assistant for two years to the U.S. Education Commissioner, Department of Health, Education and Welfare. He has been an attorney with the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission and a legislative aide to former Indiana Congressman John Brademas.

He published, Thinking Out Loud: The Wit and Wisdom of Stephen Joel Trachtenberg , Reflections on Higher Education (New Yorker Cartoon Bank, 2006), Thinking Out Loud (Oryx Press, 1998), and Speaking His Mind (Oryx Press, 1994). He is co-editor of the book The Art of Hiring in America's Colleges & Universities (Prometheus Books, 1993). He authored chapters in the books Productivity & Higher Education (Peterson's Guide, 1992), Leaders on Leadership: The College Presidency (Jossey-Bass, 1988), and Academic Leaders as Managers (Jossey-Bass, 1982). His articles have appeared in publications such as The Educational Record , Phi Delta Kappan , The Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges AGB Reports , Resources in Education , Journal for Higher Education Management , The College Board Review , the College Marketing Alert , The Chronicle of Higher Education , The Washington Post , and The New York Times . Trachtenberg also has served as a consulting editor to The Journal of Education and The Presidency .

Trachtenberg chaired the Southeastern Universities Research Association (SURA). He is a past chairman of the District of Columbia Chamber of Commerce and the Atlantic 10 Conference Presidents Council, and continues to be a member of both. He serves on the boards of the Greater Washington Board of Trade and the D.C. Federal City Council. He also serves on the boards of the Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) Executive Panel and the International Association of University Presidents. Trachtenberg chairs the Rhodes Scholarships Selection Committee for Maryland and the District of Columbia . He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and the Board of Directors of the Chiang Chen Industrial Charity Foundation in Hong Kong, and a trustee of Al-Akhawayn University in Morocco.

Additionally, Trachtenberg had been appointed by the mayor to serve on the District of Columbia Tax Revision Commission, as well as the District of Columbia Committee to Promote Washington. He has served on the board of the Urban League of Greater Washington and as President of the American Association of University Administrators. In 1988, he was elected to the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Presidents Commission.

In May 2007, his alma mater, Columbia University, awarded Trachtenberg an honorary Doctor of Laws degree. In 2005, he received an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from Lyon College, Ariz., and Touro College, N.Y.

In 2005, the District of Columbia Chamber of Commerce honored Trachtenberg with the D.C. Business Leader of the Year Award. In 2003, the Albert B. Sabin Institute presented him with its Humanitarian Award. In 2002, the University of New Haven honored him with an Honorary Doctor of Laws degree. Also in 2002 he became a fellow of the preeminent learned society, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and was awarded the U.S. Treasury Department's Medal of Merit. In 2001, Southern Connecticut State University honored Trachtenberg with an Honorary Doctor of Laws degree. He was named a "Washingtonian of the Year 2000" of Washingtonian Magazine. In June 2000, he was decorated as a "Grand Officier Du Wissam Al Alaoui" by King Mohammed VI of Morocco . Also in the year 2000, he was awarded the Order of St. John of Jerusalem, Knight Grand Cross for Distinguished Service to Freemasonry and Humanity. In 1999, he was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree by Gratz College . Boston University also honored him in 1999 with an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree. He received The Jewish National Fund 1999 "Tree of Life Award."

By Resolution of the Mayor and the Council of the District of Columbia , Dec. 4, 2006, was declared "Stephen Joel Trachtenberg Day," recognizing his 19 years of leadership at GW and in the city. Similarly, by Proclamation of the City and County of San Francisco , February 2, 1999, was proclaimed "Stephen Joel Trachtenberg Day in San Francisco!" By Resolution of the Council of the District of Columbia, January 22, 1998, was declared "Stephen Joel Trachtenberg Day" in honor of President Trachtenberg's commitments to minority students, scholarship programs, public school partnerships and community service.

In 1997, Trachtenberg received the U.S. Department of State Secretary's Open Forum Distinguished Public Service Award. In 1997, he received an Honorary Doctor of Laws degree from Mount Vernon College . Also in 1997, he was awarded the Grand Cross (highest honor of the Scottish Rite of Freemasonry); a portrait was dedicated and placed in the Hall of Honor at the House of the Temple . In 1996, the Odessa State Medical University ( Ukraine ) awarded Trachtenberg the Honorary Doctor of Medicine degree. The American Association of University Administrators presented Trachtenberg with the 1996 Distinguished Service Award. He received the 1996 B'nai B'rith Humanitarian Award. In 1995, he was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Laws degree by Richmond College (London ). In 1995, he was awarded the John Jay Award for Outstanding Professional Achievement by Columbia University . He received the 1995 Newcomen Society Award. Trachtenberg was honored by the American Jewish Congress, receiving the 1995 Spirit of Democracy Award.

In 1994, Trachtenberg received an honorary Doctor of Public Administration degree from South Korea 's Kyonggi University. In 1993, the Washington, D.C. Urban League named him "Father of the Year." In 1992, Trachtenberg received the International Salute Award in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr. Also in 1992 he received the Hannah G. Solomon Award from the National Council of Jewish Women. In 1990, he was honored by Hanyang University in Korea with an Honorary Doctor of Laws. Additionally, in 1990, Trachtenberg was awarded the University Medal of Highest Honor from Kyung Hee University in Korea. He received an honorary Doctor of Humanities degree from the University of Hartford (CT) in 1989. In 1988, the Connecticut Bar Association honored him with its Distinguished Public Service Award, and he was recognized by the Hartford NAACP for his contributions to the education of minority students. He received a 1987 Human Relations Award from the National Conference of Christians and Jews. He received an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree from Trinity College (CT) in 1986. In 1984 he was presented The Mt. Scopus Award from Hebrew University in Jerusalem. In 1982 he was celebrated by the Connecticut Region of Hadassah with the Myrtle Wreath Award. Trachtenberg was named one of the Top 100 Leaders in the American Academy in a 1978 Change magazine poll.

A native of Brooklyn , N.Y., Trachtenberg graduated from P.S. 254 and James Madison High School . He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Columbia University in 1959, a Juris Doctor from Yale University in 1962, and a Master of Public Administration degree from Harvard University in 1966. In 1968, he was selected as a Winston Churchill Traveling Fellow for study in Oxford, England . He is a member of Phi Beta Kappa. Trachtenberg and his wife, Francine Zorn Trachtenberg, have two sons: Adam and Ben.

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Lloyd H. Elliott
1965-88

Lloyd Hartman Elliott became University President during the turbulent years of the Vietnam Era and the student protests. By the end of his tenure Elliott had brought to the University financial stability and continued growth through academic development and his many building programs.

As Elliott considered libraries to be the backbone of any campus, his proudest achievement was the building of the three libraries currently at the campus: the Melvin Gelman Library, the Jacob Burns Law Library, and the Paul Himmelfarb Health Sciences Library. In addition to the library projects, the Academic Center, (comprised of Smith, Rome and Phillips Halls), Funger Hall and the National Law Center's Theodore N. Lerner Hall were completed. The Charles E. Smith Center for Physical Education and Athletics, which replaced the old"Tin Tabernacle," was completed and in use in 1970. In that same year Elliott opened the Cloyd Heck Marvin Student Center. The Marvin Center was one of Elliott's first building commitments. He felt it was a high priority because of the great need for additional space for student activities. 1973 was a landmark year for the University. GW's medical training program was moved from 13th and H Streets to the Walter G. Ross Hall. With the relocation of the School of Medicine and Health Sciences the University was for the first time located in one central area.

Elliott began the Educational Opportunity Program and created the new faculty rank of "University Professor." He increased the number of endowed professorships from three to twenty. He is also credited with the tremendous growth in the University's endowment -- from $8 million in 1965 to $200 million in 1988.

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Thomas H. Carroll
1961-1964

Thomas Henry Carroll had served as Vice President of the Ford Foundation before assuming the Presidency of the University. President John F. Kennedy spoke at his inauguration. Before his sudden death in 1964, President Carroll had overseen the beginning of work on the new wing of the University Hospital and the University's participation in a new consortium of local universities, a consortium that made the facilities of each member school available to graduate students attending the others.

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Cloyd H. Marvin
1927-1959

The thirty-two years of Marvin's presidency represent the longest in the history of the school. By the 1930s, the University was well established in the Foggy Bottom area. The city was growing and the institution had become a true urban university. In the same year, another major reorganization took place in the curriculum of the University. Advanced degrees in professional fields became the responsibility of the professional schools, the Graduate Council was given the supervision of all work leading to the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, and an autonomous Junior College was established to administer the work of the freshman and sophomore years. Marvin reorganized the administration of the University and with the assistance of the Board of Trustees, strengthened its financial structure. Through Marvin's efforts, the School of Government was established with an endowment from the Southern Jurisdiction of the Scottish Rite, a Masonic organization. In 1950, the College of General Studies was founded to provide courses for special groups on and off campus.

Throughout Cloyd Heck Marvin's tenure the University had undergone physical change. Marvin's vast building program included the construction of a medical laboratory building, Lisner Library, the Hall of Government, Lisner Auditorium, Tompkins Hall of Engineering, the University Hospital, James Monroe Hall, Warwick Memorial building, Samson Hall and the Student Union. The grounds were landscaped with a notable array of roses which continue to grace the campus.

In the 1930s, The George Washington University served as a center of activity for theoretical physicists and as the backdrop for some of the most important conferences on theoretical physics ever held. It was on this campus that one of the most dramatic announcements of the century was made. The news that physicist Otto Hahn in Berlin had successfully split an atom was made on January 26, 1939. The Fifth Washington Conference on Theoretical Physics, hosted by faculty members George Gamow and Edward Teller and attended by distinguished physicists from all over the world, listened as Niels Bohr of Copenhagen read the telegram with the amazing news. The development gave GW a prominent place in scientific history.

Marvin led the University through the war years. With the outbreak of the war in 1941 national defense overshadowed events at the University. Although occupied with the war effort, university activities continued. With the construction of the Lisner Auditorium the student body gained space for meetings and performances. Cue and Curtain (the Student drama club), the Glee Clubs, Debate Club and numerous other organizations made regular use of the auditorium. In 1943, even though the Auditorium was not dedicated, it was chosen for the 122nd annual commencement. That same year, team captain Joe Gallagher led the Colonials to the Southern Conference Basketball championship. With the conclusion of the 1943 season varsity sports would not be resumed until the conclusion of the war.

GW contributed greatly to the war effort. At the end of the conflict the University had sent some 7,000 students off to war, contracted with the U.S. government to develop rockets for use by the Army and Navy and develop training courses for over 12,000 students.

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William Mather Lewis
1923-1927

In 1923, the year William Mather Lewis made the transition from the United States Chamber of Commerce to The George Washington University, Calvin Coolidge became President after Harding's death, and went on to win the election of 1924. Lewis was well known as a brilliant speaker, in demand by groups throughout the nation. During his presidency, a new gymnasium was erected and Mrs. Joshua Evans, Jr., was elected by the alumni as the first woman member of the Board of Trustees. After leaving the University, Lewis assumed the presidency of Lafayette College.

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William Miller Collier
1918-1921

William Miller Collier was the former U.S. Minister to Spain. When he assumed the presidency of GW, the United States was at the height of its involvement in the First World War. In practical and symbolic ways, the school became part of the war effort. A unit of the Student Army Training Corps and a United States Naval Unit were established "for the duration." In 1918, at a special convocation, the University for the first time bestowed an honorary degree upon a foreign leader: Albert, King of the Belgians, symbol of the neutrality violated in 1914. In 1921, having presided over the centennial celebration of the University, Collier resigned when President Warren G. Harding nominated him for an ambassadorship.

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Charles H. Stockton
1910-18

University President Charles H. Stockton provided the guidance to weather the financial stress, reorganizing the University in 1911 to reduce expenditures and selling property to increase revenue. Through the urging of Stockton, the Department of Arts and Sciences was moved in 1912 to 2023 G Street, the area that George Washington himself had selected as the site for "his" University. Foggy Bottom was established as the new central location.

President Stockton's credentials could not have been better for the challenges that would confront the University. He had served as dean of the law school and as Acting President before his appointment to the presidency. But Stockton's most significant qualification for guiding the University during World War I was his status as a retired Rear Admiral. As the United States drew ever closer to full involvement in the conflict, Stockton placed the University at the government's disposal.

On the national level Theodore Roosevelt was the freelance trouble-shooter throughout the world, as the first governor of the Philippines and as Secretary of War, William Howard Taft was Roosevelt's natural successor as President in 1908, defeating not only William Jennings Bryan but also the Socialist candidate Eugene V. Debs. Growing bitterness between Taft and Roosevelt paved the way for the victory, in the 1912 election, of Woodrow Wilson.

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Charles W. Needham
1902-10

When Charles Willis Needham, a Baptist layman and dean of the law school, assumed the presidency of Columbian University, the unexpected President of the United States was Theodore Roosevelt. Roosevelt had been sworn in on September 14, 1901, following the assassination of President McKinley, and had brought into Washington a surge of energy whose only precedent may have been that experience under Andrew Jackson. Needham's presidency was also a time of remarkable and lasting accomplishments. In 1904, Congress authorized a change in the name of the school from Columbian University to The George Washington University (the new seal and flag of the school were displayed in 1905, at the first convocation following the change). The institution's new charter also permitted it to organize colleges. Thus the National College of Pharmacy, the College of Veterinary Medicine, and the College of Engineering and Mechanical Arts became part of the University. Although endowed with a new name, expansion of schools and courses, combined with the costs of construction and maintenance created a heavy economic burden upon the University.

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Benaiah L. Whitman
1895-1900

Formerly the president of Colby College in Maine, Benaiah L. Whitman arrived at Columbian University in the year that William McKinley defeated William Jennings Bryan in the race for the presidency of the United States. During his term, the University Extension Program was established, library science added to the curriculum, a new law school building erected, and training of nurses begun at the University's new hospital--whose new female superintendent was also the first woman to appear on the official faculty list. President McKinley and his cabinet attended the opening of the School of Comparative Jurisprudence and Diplomacy.

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James C. Welling
1871-94

The scandal-ridden presidency of Ulysses S. Grant (he was elected to a second term in 1872) had caused a good deal of national demoralization when James Clarke Welling, former president of St. John's College in Maryland and former holder of the Chair of Belles Lettres at Princeton University, began his distinguished tenure at Columbian College--soon to be known, following an Act of Congress in 1873, as Columbian University. He was the first layman to hold the position of president. In the course of his administration, the school moved from the outskirts of Washington to a midtown location, and all of its departments were moved to newly erected buildings at fifteenth and H Streets. During his tenure, the Board of Trustees became a self-perpetuating body, the National College of Pharmacy was chartered, the Medical School became a three year program, the Dental School was established, the National Veterinary College was organized, and the Corcoran Scientific School was established. In 1888, the first female students entered Columbian University, and in 1892 the School of Graduate Studies was created.

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Rev. George W. Samson
1859-71

Two days after James Buchanan's inauguration in 1857, the Dred Scott decision was handed down by the Supreme Court. For the abolitionists of the North, it was a stimulus to still stronger efforts in the battle against slavery. In the mid-term elections of 1858, the badly split Democrats suffered a resounding defeat and the way was clear for the emergence of the Republicans under Lincoln. To the Rev. George Whitefield Samson, formerly Pastor of the E Street Baptist Church, fell the difficult task of guiding Columbian College through the Civil War. In 1861, many students left, most of them heading back to their homes in the South. College exercises were continued for the few remaining students. An executive order from President Lincoln caused the campus to be occupied by the government for war-related hospital purposes (the College was fully reimbursed after the war). By 1867, Samson had overseen the restoration of the school to its former status, and a total of 419 students were in residence. The Medical College now shared the College of Law Building on Fifth Street, while a new building donated by W. W. Corcoran made it possible to introduce an "Advanced Course" for the Master of Arts degree.

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Joseph Getchell Binney
1855-58

Three years after the election of Franklin Pierce, the issue of slavery was very much on the American mind. Indeed, Pierce's victory over Winfield Scott in the election of 1852 was attributed, by the New York Herald, to fear of Scott's anti-slavery views and the risks they posed for the Union itself. Joseph Getchell Binney's experience as a missionary in India, where he had founded a seminary for the training of native ministers, resulted in a brief presidency at Columbian College. In 1855 the Columbian College awarded the degrees of Bachelor of Arts, Master of Arts, and the Bachelor of Philosophy. German was also added to the curriculum. He resigned in 1858 in order to begin missionary work in Burma--but died at sea during the voyage and was buried in the Indian Ocean.

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Joel Smith Bacon
1843-54

Martin Van Buren's first term as President of the United States had been severely damaged by the financial panic of 1837, and he failed in his 1840 bid for re-election. The new President, William Henry Harrison, had garnered some of his public appeal by portraying himself as a humble farmer (in reality, he was the wealthy owner of 2,000 acres of land). Joel Smith Bacon came to Columbian College from Hamilton College three years after Harrison's election. He oversaw the transition as the College's Department of Medicine moved to the old jail in Judiciary Square and became the National Medical College, one of the nation's first teaching hospitals. Other innovations included a program in natural science leading to the degree of Bachelor of Philosophy, the college's first alumni association, and the awarding of the first Doctor of Laws degree.

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Stephen Chapin
1828-41

Andrew Jackson, in the election of 1828, succeeded John Quincy Adams as President of the United States, the first chief executive to move from humble beginnings to the White House. Stephen Chapin, formerly a professor of theology at Waterville College (now Colby College) in Maine, arrived at Columbian College that same year to begin thirteen years of ceaseless struggle--most of it financial rather than intellectual. Under his administration, the first Master of Arts degrees were awarded and an Act of Congress conferred on the school a federal grant of $25,000 in city lots. At the very end of Chapin's tenure, Columbian College was free of debt.

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Rev. William Staughton
1821-27

In 1820, James Monroe had been re-elected President of the United States. His opponents had included John Quincy Adams, son of the second President, who became Monroe's Secretary of State. A year later, in order to assume the presidency of Columbian College, the Rev. William Staughton resigned as Pastor of the Samson Street Baptist Church in Philadelphia and, at the request of the Board of Trustees, familiarized himself with European educational methods. His tenure as President saw the founding of the law school, the departments of classics, medicine and theology, and a preparatory school. The first Columbian College commencement, held in 1824, included among its guests President Monroe, members of his cabinet, members of the Senate, House and Supreme Court, and the Marquis de Lafayette. The Columbian College was located on "College Hill" an area of land bordering Florida Avenue and 14th and 15th Streets.

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