To be precise, the average length of tenure of Dartmouth’s presidents has been 14.75 years. The longest term was 35 years, served by Dartmouth’s second president, John Wheelock (1779-1815) and by the sixth president, Nathan Lord (1828-63). The shortest term was that of Daniel Dana (1820-21), the College’s fourth president. Dana resigned after just one year, due to ill health and “exhausted by the strain of the presidency.” Dartmouth’s current president, James Wright, will have served 11 years when he steps down in June of 2009. Wright’s immediate predecessor, James O. Freedman, also served 11 years (1987-98), as did John G. Kemeny, Dartmouth’s 14th president (1970-81). For more information on all of Dartmouth’s 16 presidents, see the Wheelock Succession of Presidents.
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