The president's office is located in Old Centre (pictured in 2005).[1]
Centre College is a privateliberal arts college located in Danville, Kentucky, United States. It was founded by leaders of the Presbyterian Church, an affiliation it still loosely maintains, and was formally chartered by the Kentucky General Assembly on January 21, 1819. Isaac Shelby, the former governor of Kentucky, chaired the school's first board of trustees, which met for the first time in February 1819.[2] Centre's first president was James McChord; although he died two months after his election before actually having taken the role, he is still recognized as the school's first leader.[3] For much of the school's history, the college required its president and most of its board members to be Presbyterian; this requirement ended in 1969 during the tenure of Thomas A. Spragens,[4] one year after Centre withdrew from the Kentucky Synod.[5]
All Centre presidents since John C. Young have lived in either Hillcrest House (left, in 1927) or Craik House (right, in 2021).
John C. Young, who held office for nearly 27 years, is the longest-serving president in Centre's history. Spragens, who held the position for 24 years, and John A. Roush, who held it for 22 years, had the next-longest tenures in office.[17] The 21st and current president of Centre College is Milton C. Moreland, who has held office since July 1, 2020. He is an archaeologist by training and was formerly the provost and vice president for academic affairs at Rhodes College. In 2023, the president was the highest-paid employee at the school, with a total salary of $417,315.[18]
Craik House has been the residence of the college president for most of the time since the school bought the house in 1937.[19][20] Originally built in 1853, the Italianate-style home was first owned by William Moore, a Danville farmer, and later by George Welsh, a merchant and member of Centre's board of trustees.[19] When the college purchased the house using funds from a donation given by Henry Nelson Craik, an 1890 Centre graduate, the building was renamed for him.[20] President Robert L. McLeod was the first to occupy the house,[19] but during the 1940s consultants recommended the house be abandoned due to obsolete utilities and the inadequacy of its layout for hosting large receptions. For about ten years thereafter, the house was unused, until it was renovated in 1958 in preparation for the arrival of President Spragens to once again serve as the president's home.[20] It underwent further renovations in 1982 and 2021.[21][22] From 1831 to 1937, all presidents from John C. Young to Turck lived in Hillcrest House during their presidencies.[23] Hillcrest later served as a faculty residence, a student residence, and an academic building for various periods before being demolished in 1969.[23][24]
^ abRobert L. McLeod and Robert J. McMullen served as co-presidents from September 1944 to November 1945, while McLeod was on a leave of absence serving as a chaplain in the United States Navy.[51]
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