A 'Chancellor' is the head of a
university. Other titles are sometimes used, such as
President or
Rector.
In most
Commonwealth (or former Commonwealth) nations, the Chancellor is usually a
titular (figurehead) non-resident head, often with a 'Pro-Chancellor' as practical Chairman of the governing body ("The
Council"); the actual
chief executive of a university is the '
Vice-Chancellor'.
Canada, Hong Kong and Scotland
Canadian and
Scottish universities have a figurehead Chancellor, but the day-to-day operations are typically handled by a "
Principal" who also carries the title of Vice-Chancellor. In Canada, the Principal may also be called "
President" or "
Rector". See: .
In
Hong Kong, universities also have a figurehead Chancellor. Day-to-day operation is in the hands of either a Vice-Chancellor or a President, depending on the institution.
Republic of Ireland
In the
Republic of Ireland the four universities all have a Chancellor as their figurehead leader. However day-to-day operations of the universities are under the directorship of a President (a
Provost in the case of
Trinity College Dublin). The
National University of Ireland's constituent universities do not have a chancellor each, rather, the president of each constituent university has the title of
Pro-Vice-Chancellor of the NUI. In
Dublin City University and the
University of Limerick, the chancellor is also the chairman of the university's Governing Authority.
Australia
In
Australia, the Chancellor is Chairman of the University's governing body; thus, as well as having ceremonial duties, the Chancellor participates in the governance of the University (but not its active management). The Chancellor is assisted by a Deputy Chancellor (known as the Pro-Chancellor in some universities). The Chancellor and Deputy Chancellor are frequently drawn from the senior ranks of business or the judiciary (it is one of the few jobs considered compatible with judicial service). Some universities have a
Visitor, who is senior to the Chancellor, and is generally the state Governor (or, for Catholic universities, a Bishop). Once upon a time, university disputes could be appealed from the governing board to the Visitor (as is still the case in the UK), but nowadays such appeal is generally prohibited by legislation, and the position has only ceremonial functions. (In fact, little function at all, since the Visitor will rarely attend University functions, unlike the Chancellor and Deputy Chancellor, who frequently preside at functions such as graduations.)
Macquarie University in
Sydney, in particular, is noteworthy in having the unique position of ''Emeritus Deputy Chancellor'', a post created for John Lincoln on his retirement from his long-held post of Deputy Chancellor in 2000. The new position is not merely an honorary title, as it also retains a place in the University Council for Lincoln.
United States
In the
United States, universities usually call their heads "presidents," but the name chancellor is sometimes seen, most commonly in a system of connected
state universities. A few
private institutions namely
Saint Anselm College (which has a President and Chancellor),
Saint Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary,
Syracuse University,
Vanderbilt University, and
Washington University in St. Louis use the title chancellor. After his retirement as founding president of Brandeis University, Abram L. Sachar held the position of Chancellor of Brandeis University, until he retired to the position of Chancellor Emeritus which he held until his passing in 1993; the post has not been filled again. A given state's
university system may be headed by a "chancellor" who serves as the system-wide chief, while individual campuses are headed by presidents; a typical example is the
California State University system.
Exceptions in which the two titles are reversed include:
★ the
University of Alaska system
★ the
University of Arkansas System
★ the
University of California (UC) system
★ the
University of Colorado System
★ the
University of Illinois system
★ the
Louisiana State University System
★ the
University of Massachusetts system
★ the
University of Missouri System
★ the
University of Nebraska system
★ the
University of North Carolina system
★ the
University of Wisconsin System
★ the
Purdue University System,
So in
California, for example, the
California State University (CSU) ''chancellor'' supervises the ''presidents'' of CSU's 23 campuses, while the UC ''president'' supervises the ''chancellors'' of UC's 10 campuses.
In the
Indiana University System, the president holds executive authority for the system and there are chancellors at each campus, as in the above exceptions, but there is the additional post of "University Chancellor", which was created for popular past president
Herman B Wells upon his retirement, largely as a
sinecure position, and held by him until his death in 2000.
The
College of William and Mary uses chancellor in the British way for a figurehead leader but the day-to-day head is an American-style "president," not a "vice-chancellor." The incumbent Chancellor is
Sandra Day O'Connor, former
Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. Previous holders of the office of Chancellor include
George Washington,
John Tyler,
Warren Burger,
Margaret Thatcher, and
Henry Kissinger. Before independence several Bishops of London and Archbishops of Canterbury served as Chancellor.
The Catholic University of America is headed by a
President and the
Archbishop of Washington serves as Chancellor. The current archbishop and chancellor,
Donald Wuerl, represents the university before the
Holy See.
The
University of Mississippi uses the chancellor system, with the chancellor serving as the chief executive officer of the system, while the medical school is headed by a vice chancellor and the four other campuses are headed by various deans that report directly to the vice-chancellor of academic affairs.
Outside universities, the title is sometimes used to designate other education officials, such as the Chancellor of the New York City Department of Education.
India
In
India, almost all universities have a chancellor (
Hindi: ''kulādhipati'') as their titular head whose function is largely ceremonial. The de-facto head of the university is the Vice-Chancellor (
Hindi: ''kulapati''). His equivalent for engineering institutes is the Director (
Hindi: ''nirdéshak''), even for those engineering institutes that are university equivalents, like the
Indian Institutes of Technology.
The Philippines
In the
Philippines, the premier state university (
University of the Philippines) designates the head of its autonomous universities as the Chancellor. The autonomous universities make up the system, whose head is designated as the President. The Chancellor designates the different Vice-Chancellors for different areas of concern of the University: academic affairs, finance, and community affairs, among others.
Pakistan
In Pakistan chancellor is normally the figure head of the university, who is normally the provincial governor where that university exists.
Day to day business of the university is run by the vice chancellor.
See also
★
Lists of university leaders
★
★ Administrators:
trustee,
president,
vice president,
university principal,
dean,
provost
★
★ Other:
college,
faculty,
professor
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