History of the Office
About the Office
Through the years, Hampton has been blessed with many able, visionary leaders. To date, twelve other administrators have succeeded the founder,General Samuel Chapman Armstrong(1868-1893) – each one leaving an institutional legacy:
Drs. Hollis B. Frissell (1893 – 1917),
James Gregg (1918-1929),
George P. Phenix (1930),
Arthur Howe (1930-1940),
Malcolm MacLean (1940-1943),
Ralph Bridgeman (1944-1948),
Alonzo Moron (1949-1959),
Jerome Holland (1960-1970)
Roy D. Hudson (1970-1976),
Carl M. Hill (1977-1978),
William R. Harvey (1978-2022),
Darrell K. Williams (2022-present)
Darrell K. Williams
2022 - present
Lieutenant General Darrell K. Williams, United States Army (retired) hails from West Palm Beach, Florida and brings to Hampton University over four decades of proven success in leading complex domestic and international military, government civilian, academic institutional, and commercial business organizations. Read More
William R. Harvey
(President Emeritus)
1978 - 2022
Dr. William R. Harvey served as the 12th President of Hampton University. A native of Brewton, Alabama, he is a graduate of Southern Normal High School, Talladega College and Virginia State University. He earned his doctorate in College Administration from Harvard University in 1972. Before coming to Hampton over four decades ago, he held administrative posts at Harvard, Fisk, and Tuskegee universities. Read More
Carl Hill
1977 - 1978
- Dedication of the Early Childhood Center
Roy D. Hudson
1970 - 1976
- Virginia Hall, Academy Building, Mansion House, Memorial Chapel, and Emancipation Oak designated as national historic sites
Jerome Holland
1960 - 1970
- Dedication of Thomas Turner Hall, Martin Luther King Hall, and William A. Freeman Hall
- Virginia Hall, Academy Building, Mansion House, and Memorial Chapel included on the Virginia Landmarks Register
Alonzo G. Moron
1949 - 1959
- Entrance gate designated by William Moses and built by trade students
- Hampton Institute admitted to the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS)
Ralph P. Bridgman
1944 -1948
- First graduate courses in education and guidance techniques
Malcolm Shaw MacLean
1940 - 1943
- U.S. Naval Training School – first offered at a Black college
- School Division of Trades and Industries closed
- Charles White mural The Contribution of the Negro to Democracy in America dedicated in Clarke Hall
- Quarter Century Club established
Arthur Howe
1930 - 1940
- First class graduated in music
- First class of army officers commissioned
- Students select “Pirates” as the school mascot
- First Annual Fall Convocation held
George Perley Phenix
1930
- Name of Hampton Normal and Agricultural Institute changed to Hampton Institute
- School of Nursing established, offering three-year diploma program
James Edgar Gregg
1918 - 1929
- Establishment of the Musical Arts Society
- First bachelor’s degree awarded in agriculture education
- DuPont Hall completed to house mathematics and the natural sciences (biology, physics, and chemistry.)
- First issue of the student newspaper, The Hampton Script, published
Hollis Burke Frissell
1893 - 1917
- Trade School Incorporated
- Collis P. Huntington Library Erected
- Hampton received accreditation as a four -year secondary school by the Commonwealth of Virginia
Samuel Chapman Armstrong
1868 - 1893
The son of missionaries, Armstrong was born January 30, 1839 in Maui, Hawaii, the sixth of ten children. He attended Punahou School in Honolulu, Hawaii. In 1860 his father suddenly died, and Armstrong, at age 21, left Hawaii for the United States and attended Williams College in Massachusetts, graduating in 1862. Read More