The complete list of University of Texas at Austin presidents officially includes 28 individuals in the history

History of The University of Texas at Austin

The University of Texas was originally conceived in 1827 under an article in the Constitución de Coahuila y Texas to open a public university in the state of Texas. The Constitution of 1876 also called for the creation of a "university of the first class." Thus, they created The University of Texas...

 of the University

University of Texas at Austin

The University of Texas at Austin is a state research university located in Austin, Texas, USA, and is the flagship institution of the The University of Texas System. Founded in 1883, its campus is located approximately from the Texas State Capitol in Austin...

. The office of the president was originally established in 1895.

The position did not exist when the University was established in 1883. The founders of the University had decided to follow the example of University of Virginia

University of Virginia

The University of Virginia is a public research university located in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States, founded by Thomas Jefferson...

, where Thomas Jefferson

Thomas Jefferson

Thomas Jefferson was the principal author of the United States Declaration of Independence and the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom , the third President of the United States and founder of the University of Virginia...

, a skeptic of central authority and bureaucracy, had prevented the establishment of such an office years before. The faculty would retain control, under the regents, through an annually selected chairman.

John William Mallet, a professor of physics, served as the first chairman of the faculty for one year, starting in 1883. Mallet was followed by William LeRoy Broun

William Leroy Broun

William Leroy Broun was the President of the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Alabama, then known as the Alabama Polytechnic Institute, now known as Auburn University, from 1882 to 1902, with a one-year hiatus in 1883....

, who served only briefly. Leslie Waggener received the position in 1884, and served until 1894. Waggener subsequently served as president ad interim

Ad interim

The Latin phrase ad interim literally means "in the time between" denotes the meaning of "in the meantime", "for an intervening time" or "temporarily" in the English language...

 until his death in 1896. George Tayloe Winston, who took over in 1896, is officially considered the first president of The University of Texas.

President Logan Wilson concurrently served as acting chancellor in 1954, until the chancellorship was abolished in September of that year. The position was re-instated in 1960, upon which Wilson left the presidency to become chancellor. In 1963, the office of the president itself was abolished. The chancellor

Chancellor

Chancellor is the title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the Cancellarii of Roman courts of justice—ushers who sat at the cancelli or lattice work screens of a basilica or law court, which separated the judge and counsel from the...

 of The University of Texas System

University of Texas System

The University of Texas System encompasses 15 educational institutions in Texas, of which nine are academic universities and six are health institutions. The system is headquartered in Austin and has a total enrollment of over 190,000 students...

, Harry Ransom

Harry Ransom

Harry Huntt Ransom was a faculty member and administrator at the University of Texas, becoming the university's president in 1960, and ultimately served as the Chancellor of the University of Texas System from 1961 to 1971...

, assumed the duties of the presidency until the position's re-establishment in 1967.

Presidents

Dates of office	| President		Notes
1895 – 1896	Leslie Waggener		President ad interim
1896 – 1899	George Tayloe Winston		First president of The University of Texas
1899 – 1905	William Lambdin Prather
1905 – 1908	David Franklin Houston
1908 – 1914	Sidney Edward Mezes Sidney Edward Mezes Sidney Edward Mezes was an American philosopher.-Biography:He was born in what is now the town of Belmont, California on September 23, 1863, to a Spanish-born father and Italian-born mother. He graduated in 1884 from the University of California in engineering and was a member of the Chi Phi...
1914 – 1916	William James Battle		President ad interim
1916 – 1923	Robert Ernest Vinson
1923 – 1924	William Seneca Sutton		President ad interim
1924 – 1927	Walter Marshall William Splawn
1927 – 1937	Harry Yandell Benedict
1937 – 1939	John William Calhoun John William Calhoun John William Calhoun was the 11th president of the University of Texas at Austin between 1937 and 1939. Calhoun Hall, a building constructed in 1968 and located on the University of Texas campus, is named after him.-See also:...		President ad interim
1939 – 1944	Homer Price Rainey Homer Rainey Homer Price Rainey was a U.S. college president and professor. He was born in Eliasville in Young County, Texas, and served as the president of the University of Texas at Austin from 1939 to 1944, when he was fired after a lengthy battle over academic freedom with the university regents...		Fired by the Board of Regents over a dispute regarding academic freedom
1944 – 1946	Theophilus Shickel Painter		Acting president
1946 – 1952	Theophilus Shickel Painter
1952	James Clay Dolley		Acting president
1953 – 1960	Logan Wilson		Served concurrently as acting chancellor in 1954 until the office was abolished on September 30
1960 – 1961	Harry Huntt Ransom Harry Ransom Harry Huntt Ransom was a faculty member and administrator at the University of Texas, becoming the university's president in 1960, and ultimately served as the Chancellor of the University of Texas System from 1961 to 1971...
1961	Harry Huntt Ransom Harry Ransom Harry Huntt Ransom was a faculty member and administrator at the University of Texas, becoming the university's president in 1960, and ultimately served as the Chancellor of the University of Texas System from 1961 to 1971...		Acting president
1961 – 1963	Joseph Royall Smiley
1963 – 1967			Chancellor Harry Ransom Harry Ransom Harry Huntt Ransom was a faculty member and administrator at the University of Texas, becoming the university's president in 1960, and ultimately served as the Chancellor of the University of Texas System from 1961 to 1971...  assumed the duties of the office of the president
1967 – 1970	Norman Hackerman Norman Hackerman Norman Hackerman was an American chemist, internationally known as an expert in metal corrosion, and a former president of both the University of Texas at Austin and Rice University ....
1970 – 1971	Bryce Jordan Bryce Jordan Bryce Jordan was the fourteenth president of the Pennsylvania State University, serving from 1983 until 1990. Prior to that he served as interim president of the University of Texas at Austin from 1970 to 1971 and as first president of The University of Texas at Dallas from 1971 to 1981.During...
1971 – 1974	Stephen Hopkins Spurr		Fired by the Board of Regents and Chancellor Charles LeMaistre
1974 – 1975	Lorene Lane Rogers		President ad interim
1975 – 1979	Lorene Lane Rogers
1979 – 1985	Peter Tyrrell Flawn
1985 – 1992	William H. Cunningham
1992 – 1993	William S. Livingston William S. Livingston William Samuel Livingston is a political science professor who was the acting president of the University of Texas at Austin, a position he held from 1992 until 1993. Born in Ironton, Ohio, Livingston fought in World War II as a First Lieutenant and was awarded the Bronze Star and the Purple Heart...		Acting president
1993 – 1997	Robert M. Berdahl Robert M. Berdahl Robert M. Berdahl is an American historian, author and university administrator. He was chancellor of the University of California, Berkeley from 1997 to 2004, and became president of the Association of American Universities from May 2006 to June 2011.-External links:*...
1997 – 1998	Peter Tyrrell Flawn		President ad interim
1998 – 2006	Larry R. Faulkner
2006 – present	William Powers, Jr. William C. Powers William Charles Powers Jr. is the 28th president of The University of Texas at Austin, a position he has held since February 1, 2006....