List of presidents of San Jose State University

President of
San José State University
President of ; San José State University
	Incumbent; Cynthia Teniente-Matson; since January 15, 2023
	San José State University
First holder	George W. Minns
Salary	$474,840
Website	Office of the President

The President of San José State University is the chief administrator of the university.

San José State University is a public university in San Jose, California. Established in 1857 and originally known as the Minns' Evening Normal School, SJSU is the oldest public university in the state of California. The university offers bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees through its 7 colleges and schools. With a total student enrollment of about 36,000, SJSU is one of the largest universities in the United States.

Thirty-two people have led San Jose State since its founding including eight principals, 15 presidents, five acting presidents, and four interim presidents.^[2] The longest-serving president of the university was Thomas William MacQuarrie, who held the office for twenty five years from 1927 to 1952. The shortest-serving president of the university was Paul Yu who held the office for two weeks between July and August 2004.

The current president of San José State University is Cynthia Teniente-Matson, assuming the position on January 16, 2023.

List of presidents

The following individuals have held the Office of President of San José State University.^[2] Before 1899, the officeholder was referred to as the Principal, but has since been referred to as the President. Modern names of educational institutions are used.

No.	President		Term of office	Education	Notes
Principals of Minns Evening Normal School
1		George W. Minns (1813–1895) ^[3]^[4]	1857–1862 (5 years)	Bachelor's from Harvard University LL.D., Harvard University	Founder of Minns' Evening Normal School
2		Ahira Holmes (1823–1902) ^[3]^[4]	1862–1865 (3 years)	Graduated from Bridgewater State University
Principals of California State Normal School
1		George W. Minns (1813–1895) ^[3]^[4]	1865–1866 (11 months)	Graduated from Harvard University LL.D., Harvard University	Founder of Minns' Evening Normal School
3		Henry P. Carlton (1821–1909) ^[3]^[4]	1866–1867 (1 year)	Attended the University of Vermont D.h.c, University of California, Berkeley
4		George E. Tait (1831–1888) ^[3]^[4]	1867–1868 (8 months)	Graduated from the University of Virginia
3		Henry P. Carlton (1821–1909) ^[3]^[4]	1868–1868 (4 months)	Attended the University of Vermont Dr.h.c, University of California, Berkeley
5		William T. Lucky (1821–1876) ^[2]^[3]^[4]	1868–1873 (5 years)	A.B., McKendrie University M.A., McKendrie University
6		Charles H. Allen (1828–1904) ^[3]^[4]	1873–1889 (16 years)		Namesake of Allen Hall, demolished in 2003^[5]
7		Charles W. Childs (1844–1922) ^[3]^[4]	1889–1896 (7 years)	Dip.Ed., San José State University Attended Heald College
8		Ambrose Randall (1839–1900) ^[3]	1896–1899 (3 years)	Graduated Wesleyan University Graduated University of Maine at Farmington
9		James McNaughton (1837–1908) ^[3]	1899–1900 (1 year)	Bachelor's from Allegheny College Master's from the University of Michigan PhD, University of Michigan
10		Morris Elmer Dailey (1867–1919) ^[3]	1900–1919 (18 years)	A.B., Simpson College B.S., Drake University M.A., Indiana University Bloomington LL.D., Drake University	Died in office Namesake of the Morris Dailey Auditorium in Tower Hall
11 Acting		Lewis Ben Wilson (1854–1924) ^[3]	1919–1920 (1 year)	Attended Washington & Jefferson College Dip.Ed., San José State University Attended Stanford University Attended the University of California, Berkeley
Presidents of State Teachers College at San Jose
12		William Webb Kemp (1873–1946) ^[3]^[6]	1920–1923 (3 years)	A.B., Stanford University Attended the University of California, Berkeley PhD., Columbia University
13 Acting		Alexander Richard Heron (1891–1965) ^[3]	1923–1923 (3 months)	B.ComSci., Southwestern Law School D.Bus.h.c., University of the Pacific
14		Edwin Reagan Snyder (1872–1925) ^[2]^[3]	1923–1925 (2 years)	Dip.Ed., University of Northern Colorado A.B., Stanford University PhD, Columbia University	Died in office
15 Acting		Herman F. Minnsen (1890–1943) ^[3]	1925–1927 (2 years)	Dip.Ed., Northern Illinois University A.B., Stanford University M.A., Stanford University
16		Thomas William MacQuarrie (1879–1963) ^[3]^[7]	1927–1952 (25 years)	Dip.Ed., University of Wisconsin–Superior Attended Columbia University Attended the United States Army Command and General Staff College A.B., Stanford University M.A., Stanford University PhD., Stanford University	Longest term of office at 25 years Namesake of MacQuarrie Hall
17		John T. Wahlquist (1899–1990) ^[2]	1952–1964 (12 years)	B.A., University of Utah Secondary teaching credential, University of Utah School administrative credential, University of Utah M.S., University of Utah PhD., University of Cincinnati	Namesake of the Wahlquist Library, demolished in 2000^[8]
18		Robert D. Clark (1910–2005) ^[9]^[10]	1964–1969 (5 years)	B.A., Point Loma Nazarene University M.A., University of Southern California PhD., University of Southern California	Namesake of Robert D. Clark Hall (formerly Clark Library)^[8]
19 Acting		Hobert W. Burns (1910–2005) ^[11]^[12]	1969–1970 (1 year)	A.A., Menlo College B.A., Stanford University M.A., Stanford University Ed.D., Stanford University
Presidents of California State University, San Jose
Presidents of San José State University
20		John H. Bunzel (1924–2018) ^[13]	1970–1978 (8 years)	A.B., Princeton University M.A., Columbia University PhD., University of California, Berkeley
21		Gail Fullerton (1927–2016) ^[14]^[15]	1978–1991 (13 years)	B.A., University of Nebraska–Lincoln M.A., University of Nebraska–Lincoln PhD., University of Oregon	First female president
22 Acting	—	J. Handel Evans (born 1938)	1991–1994 (3 years)	BArch, University of Manchester MArch, University of Oregon Attended University of Cambridge
23		Robert L. Caret (born 1947) ^[16]	1995–2003 (8 years)	B.S., Suffolk University PhD., University of New Hampshire D.Sc.h.c, Suffolk University D.Litt.h.c, National Hispanic University D.Litt.,h.c., San José State University D.Litt.h.c., St. Joseph's College of Maine and Westfield State University	Namesake of Robert L. Caret Plaza^[17]
24 Interim	—	Joseph N. Crowley (1933–2017) ^[18]	2003–2004 (1 year)	Attended the University of Maryland, College Park B.A., University of Iowa M.A., California State University, Fresno PhD., University of Washington
25	—	Paul Yu (1941–2016) ^[19]	2004–2004 (2 weeks)	B.A., University of Michigan M.A., University of Michigan PhD., University of Michigan	Shortest term of office at 2 weeks First Asian president
26 Interim		Don W. Kassing (born 1941) ^[2]^[20]	2004–2005 (1 year)	B.S., St. Louis University M.B.A., St. Louis University D.Litt.,h.c., San José State University
26		Don W. Kassing (born 1941) ^[2]^[20]	2005–2008 (3 years)
27	—	Jon Whitmore (born 1945) ^[2]	2008–2010 (2 years)	B.A., Washington State University M.A., Washington State University PhD., University of California, Santa Barbara
26 Interim		Don W. Kassing (born 1941) ^[2]^[20]	2010–2011 (1 year)	B.S., St. Louis University M.B.A., St. Louis University D.Litt.,h.c., San José State University
28		Mohammad Qayoumi (born 1952) ^[21]	2011–2015 (4 years)	B.S., American University of Beirut M.S., University of Cincinnati M.S., University of Cincinnati M.B.A., University of Cincinnati PhD., University of Cincinnati	First Middle Eastern president
29 Interim		Susan W. Martin (born 1950) ^[2]	2015–2016 (11 months)	B.S., Central Michigan University M.B.A., Michigan State University PhD., Michigan State University
30		Mary A. Papazian (born 1959) ^[2]	2016–2021 (5 years)	B.A., University of California, Los Angeles M.A., University of California, Los Angeles PhD., University of California, Los Angeles
31 Interim		Stephen Perez (born 1967) ^[22]	2022–2023 (1 year)	B.A., University of California, San Diego M.A., University of California, Davis PhD., University of California, Davis
32		Cynthia Teniente-Matson (born 1965) ^[2]	2023–present (2 years)	B.A., University of Alaska Fairbanks M.B.A., University of Alaska Anchorage Ed.D., California State University, Fresno	First Hispanic president