Presidents

In the Society’s early decades, the President was elected annually to serve for one calendar year. By 1950, the annual meeting had settled into mid-year dates and was no longer held in late December. Therefore, beginning in 1968, the term of office was changed to run from one annual meeting, currently held in August, to the next. The President serves on the Governing Board.

Beginning in 1995, ESA began electing a President-Elect rather than a President and Vice-President. The person elected would then take office at the following annual meeting, serve for one year, then become Past-president, effectively creating a three-year term of office.

Living Past Presidents collectively continue to serve as an informal committee, and take on various roles.

For the Past President’s Addresses, see here.

Our Twitter series of little known facts about past ESA presidents is presented here.

Start EndName Last nameLink
19161916Victor Ernest ShelfordShelford
19161919Forrest ShreveShreve
19161916William Morton WheelerWheeler
19171917Ellsworth HuntingtonHuntington
19171917John William HarshbergerHarshberger
19181918Henry Chandler CowlesCowles
19181918Robert Ervin CokerCoker
19191919Barrington MooreMoore
19191919Thomas Leroy HankinsonHankinson
19201943Charles Stuart GagerGager
19201920Barrington MooreMoore
19201930Asa Orrin WeeseWeese
19201920George Elwood NicholsNichols
19211921Stephen Alfred ForbesForbes
19211921Edgar Nelson TranseauTranseau
19221922Forrest ShreveShreve
19221922Henry Edward CramptonCrampton
19231923Charles Christopher AdamsAdams
19231923Gustav Adolph PearsonPearson
19241924Edgar Nelson TranseauTranseau
19241924Warder Clyde AlleeAllee
19251925Arthur Sperry PearsePearse
19251925John Ernst WeaverWeaver
19261926John William HarshbergerHarshberger
19261926Raymond Carroll OsburnOsburn
19271927Chancey JudayJuday
19271927William Skinner CooperCooper
19281928Homer Leroy ShantzShantz
19281928Royal Norton ChapmanChapman
19291929Warder Clyde AlleeAllee
19291929George Plumer BurnsBurns
19301930John Ernst WeaverWeaver
19301930Walter Penn TaylorTaylor
19311931Asa Orrin WeeseWeese
19311931Alfred Edwards EmersonEmerson
19311931Francis RamaleyRamaley
19321932George Elwood NicholsNichols
19321933Aaron Raymond KienholzKienholz
19321932Joseph GrinnellGrinnell
19331933Edwin Booth PowersPowers
19331933Herbert Christian HansonHanson
19341934George Damon FullerFuller
19341935Arthur Gibson VestalVestal
19341934Paul Smith WelchWelch
19351935Walter Penn TaylorTaylor
19351935Emma Lucy BraunBraun
19361936William Skinner CooperCooper
19361938Orlando ParkPark
19361936James George NeedhamNeedham
19371937Robert Ervin CokerCoker
19371937Howard deForestdeForest
19381938Herbert Christian HansonHanson
19381938Lee Raymond DiceDice
19391939Charles Taylor VorhiesVorhies
19391941William John Hamilton Jr.Hamilton
19391940Stanley Adair CainCain
19391939Clarence Ferdinand KorstianKorstian
19401940Francis RamaleyRamaley
19401940Orlando ParkPark
19411941Alfred Edwards EmersonEmerson
19411942Royal Eastman ShanksShanks
19411942Royal Eastman ShanksShanks
19411941Benjamin Carroll TharpTharp
19421942Clarence Ferdinand KorstianKorstian
19421947William Albert DreyerDreyer
19421942Claude Ephraim ZoBellZoBell
19431943Orlando ParkPark
19431943Stanley Adair CainCain
19431943Paul Bigelow SearsSears
19441944George Matthew ReedReed
19441944Robert Fiske GriggsGriggs
19441949Henry John OostingOosting
19441944Alfred Clarence RedfieldRedfield
19451946Henry Knute SvensonSvenson
19451945Alfred Clarence RedfieldRedfield
19451945John Mulvaney AikmanAikman
19461946John Mulvaney AikmanAikman
19461946Rand Aldo LeopoldLeopold
19471947(Brooklyn Botanic Garden)
19471947Rand Aldo LeopoldLeopold
19471947Paul Bigelow SearsSears
19481954Exie Duncan (employee of BBG)Duncan
19481948Howard E. BrewerBrewer
19481948Gordon AlexanderAlexander
19481949Charles Edward OlmstedOlmsted
19481949Carl L. HubbsHubbs
19481948Paul Bigelow SearsSears
19481950William Augustus CastleCastle
19481948William Albert DreyerDreyer
19491949Zeno Payne MetcalfMetcalf
19491949Charles Edward OlmstedOlmsted
19501951Royal E. ShanksShanks
19501951Bostwick Hawley KetchumKetchum
19501950Emma Lucy BraunBraun
19501950William Theodore PenfoundPenfound
19501950Reginald VanTrump TruittTruitt
19511952Angus M. WoodburyWoodbury
19511952John Ernest PotzgerPotzger
19511951Samuel Charles KendeighKendeigh
19511953Murray Fife BuellBuell
19511954Frederick Harold TestTest
19511951Frederick William AlbertsonAlbertson
19521953Henry Ives BaldwinBaldwin
19521953J.R. AdamsAdams
19521952Frank Caleb GatesGatesPres bio
19521952David Edward DavisDavis
19531953Lee Raymond DiceDicePres bio
19531953Stanley Adair CainCain
19541968Henry John OostingOosting
19541955Aaron John SharpSharp
19541955Ezra Henry MossMoss
19541954John Ernest PotzgerPotzgerPres bio
19541957John Frederick ReedReed
19541954Samuel EddyEddy
19551956Reed Winget FautinFautin
19551956Stanley Adair CainCain
19551955William John Hamilton Jr.HamiltonPres bio
19551957Alexander Carlton HodsonHodson
19551955Murray Fife BuellBuell
19561956Henry John OostingOostingPres bio
19561956William Franklin BlairBlair
19571958Eugene Pleasants OdumOdum
19571958John H. DavisDavis
19571957William Albert DreyerDreyerPres bio
19571959John Stiles DendyDendy
19571957William Theodore PenfoundPenfound
19581958Clarence James GoodnightGoodnight
19581958Lincoln EllisonEllison
19581961Edward Everett DaleDale
19581958Stanley Adair CainCainPres bio
19581961John Edward CantlonCantlon
19581958Frank William PrestonPreston
19591960John RankinRankin
19591959Thomas ParkParkPres bio
An Ecologist's View. ESA Bulletin 42(1):4-10
19591963Kirby Lee HaysHays
19601962Rexford F. DaubenmireDaubenmire
19601960Charles Edward OlmstedOlmstedPres bio
19601960Aaron John SharpSharp
19601960William Dwight BillingsBillings
19611961Arthur Davis HaslerHaslerPres bio
19611961Edward Smith Deevey Jr.Deevey
19621963Adolph Marvin SteblerStebler
19621962Murray Fife BuellBuellPres bio
19621964Paul Guy PearsonPearson
19621962Bostwick Hawley KetchumKetchum
19631964Paul Shultz MartinMartin
19631963William Franklin BlairBlairPres bio
19631963Lora Mangum ShieldsShields
19641965George Daniel Grice Jr.Grice
19641964John Frederick ReedReedPres bio
19641966Ralph Walter KeltingKelting
19641964LaMont Cook ColeCole
19651966Calvin McMillanMcMillan
19651965Eugene Pleasants OdumOdumPres bio
19651970Stanley Irving AuerbachAuerbach
19651965John Edward CantlonCantlon
19661967Frank John VernbergVernberg
19661966Bostwick Hawley KetchumKetchumPres bio
19661966Robert Baxter PlattPlatt
19671968Lawrence Carroll BlissBliss
19671967Rexford F. DaubenmireDaubenmirePres bio
19671969William Clark AshbyAshby
19671967George Masters WoodwellWoodwell
19681969William Dwight BillingsBillings
19681969Lawrence Richards PomeroyPomeroy
19681970Frederick Edward SmithSmith
19681968LaMont Cook ColeColePres bio
19681969John Edward CantlonCantlonPres bio
19681968George Sprugel Jr.Sprugel
19681969Pierre DansereauDansereau
19691973William Clark AshbyAshby
19691971Robert Harding WhittakerWhittaker
19691970Edward Smith Deevey Jr.DeeveyPres bio
19691972Shelby Delos GerkingGerking
19691970Paul Guy PearsonPearson
19701972Robert George WetzelWetzel
19701971Frederick Herbert BormannBormannPres bio
19701970William Albert NieringNiering
19701971Robert Harding WhittakerWhittaker
19711973Martyn Mathews CaldwellCaldwell
19711972Stanley Irving AuerbachAuerbachPres bio
19711975J. Frank McCormickMcCormick
19711972Forest Walden StearnsStearns
19721974Charles Remington GoldmanGoldman
19721973Robert Baxter PlattPlattPres bio
19721975Forest Walden StearnsStearns
19721973Frank Benjamin GolleyGolley
19731979Ralph Edward GoodGood
19731975Josephine K. DohertyDoherty
19731974Frederick Edward SmithSmithPres bio
19731974Charles Remington GoldmanGoldman
19741976David Edward ReichleReichle
19741975Richard Samuel MillerMillerPres bio
19741975Arthur Wells CooperCooper
19751977Rebecca Reyburn SharitzSharitz
19751976Forest Walden StearnsStearnsno bio publishedUrban Ecology--Opportunity or Tar Pit? ESA Bulletin 59(1):7-9 (excerpt)
19751978Edward John KormondyKormondy
19751977Paul Guy PearsonPearson
19751976Gordon Howell OriansOrians
19761978Neil F. HadleyHadley
19761977Frank Benjamin GolleyGolleyPres bio
19761977Lawrence Carroll BlissBliss
19771979Frances Crews JamesJames
19771978George Masters WoodwellWoodwellPres bioEcology 1979. ESA Bulletin 60(4):190-195
19771981Lawrence Carroll BlissBliss
19771978Robert Treat PainePaine
19781980Kenneth William CumminsCummins
19781979William Dwight BillingsBillingsPres bioAmerican Deserts and Their Mountains: An Ecological Frontier. ESA Bulletin 61(4):203-209
19781981Paul Gillan RisserRisser
19781979Gene Elden LikensLikens
19791995Duncan Theunissen PattenPatten
19791981Patricia Ann WernerWerner
19791980Robert Treat PainePainePres bioTruth in Ecology. ESA Bulletin 62(4):256-258
19791980Richard Bruce RootRoot
19801982William Anthony LaycockLaycock
19801981Arthur Wells CooperCooperPres bioWhy Doesn't Anyone Listen to Ecologists And What Can ESA Do about It? ESA Bulletin 63(4):348-356
19801981Jean Harmon LangenheimLangenheim
19811983John Anthony WiensWiens
19811982Gene Elden LikensLikensPres bioA Priority for Ecological Research. ESA Bulletin 64(4):234-243
19811985Robert Patrick McIntoshMcIntosh
19811984William A. ReinersReiners
19811982Ralph Edward GoodGood
19821984Jane LubchencoLubchenco
19821983Lawrence Carroll BlissBlissPres bioEcologists Need to Increase Their Involvement in Society. ESA Bulletin 65(4):439-444
19821983Richard T.T. FormanForman
19831985Rebecca Reyburn SharitzSharitz
19831984Francis Cope EvansEvansPres bioIn Praise of Natural History. ESA Bulletin 66(4):455-460
19831984Dennis Hal KnightKnight
19841986Norma Lee FowlerFowler
19841985Paul Gillan RisserRisserPres bioEcological Literacy. ESA Bulletin 67(4):264-270
19841987Paul Alfred ColinvauxColinvaux
19841985Harold A. MooneyMooney
19851987Peter FeinsingerFeinsinger
19851986Richard Bruce RootRootPres bioThe Challenge of Increasing Information and Specialization. ESA Bulletin 68(5):538-543
19851986Earl Edward WernerWerner
19861988Patrice A. MorrowMorrow
19861987Jean Harmon LangenheimLangenheimPres bioThe Path and Progress of American Women Ecologists. ESA Bulletin 69(4):184-197
19861991Hazel Roach DelcourtDelcourt
19861987H. Ronald PulliamPulliam
19871989Warren Gene Abrahamson IIIAbrahamson
19871988Margaret Bryan DavisDavisPres bioInsights from Paleoecology on Global Change. ESA Bulletin 70(4):222-228
19871990Rebecca Reyburn SharitzSharitz
19871988James Hemphill BrownBrown
19881990Joseph TravisTravis
19881989Harold A. MooneyMooneyPres bioToward the Study of the Earth's Metabolism. ESA Bulletin 71(4):221-228
19881989Jane LubchencoLubchenco
19891991William E. NeillNeill
19891990Dennis Hal KnightKnightPres bioCongressional Incentives for Landscape Research. ESA Bulletin 72(4):195-203
19891990Barbara Lee BentleyBentley
19901992Jessica GurevitchGurevitch
19901991Simon Asher LevinLevinPres bioSustaining Ecological Research. ESA Bulletin 73(4):213-218
19901995Louis Frank PitelkaPitelka
19901991Rebecca Reyburn SharitzSharitz
19911993Julie DenslowDenslow
19911992H. Ronald PulliamPulliamPres bioHuman Population Growth and the Carrying Capacity Concept. ESA Bulletin 75(3):141-157
19911992Judy Lynn MeyerMeyer
19921994Francis Stuart Chapin IIIChapin
19921993Jane LubchencoLubchencoPres bio
19921995Robert Krug PeetPeet
19931996Mary Eleanor PowerPower
19931994Jerry Forest FranklinFranklinPres bio
19931994Patrice A. MorrowMorrow
19941996Susan P. HarrisonHarrison
19941995Judy Lynn MeyerMeyerPres bioBeyond Gloom and Doom: Ecology for the Future. ESA Bulletin 77(4):199-205
19941995Robert Knight ColwellColwell
19951997Virgina House DaleDale
19951996Gordon Howell OriansOriansno bio publishedHuman Behavioral Ecology: 140 Years without Darwin Is Too Long. ESA Bulletin 79(1):15-28
19951998Nancy J. HuntlyHuntly
19952000Alan R. BerkowitzBerkowitz
19951996Louis Frank PitelkaPitelka
19951996Anthony C. JanetosJanetos
19951998Steward T.A. PickettPickett
19961998Laura F. HuennekeHuenneke
19961998Nelson George Hairston, Jr. Hairston
19961997James Hemphill BrownBrownPres bio
19962002William Harrison SchlesingerSchlesinger
19961999Ann Marie BartuskaBartuska
19971999Jill Spann BaronBaron
19971998James A. MacMahonMacMahonPres bio
19982000Ariel E. LugoLugo
19982000Robin ChazdonChazdon
19981999Katherine Lynn GrossGrossPres bioIt's a Good Time to Get Involved: Perspectives on the ESA, from Aldo Leopold to Today. ESA Bulletin 82(2):112-118
19982001Lisa J. GraumlichGraumlich
19982004James Samuel ClarkClark
19992001Rodolfo DirzoDirzo
19992000Diana Harrison WallWallPres bio
19992002Timothy Duane SchowalterSchowalter
20002002James Roman GoszGosz
20002002Julie DenslowDenslow
20002001Stephen Russell CarpenterCarpenterPres bio
20002006Carol Ann BrewerBrewer
20012003Sharon Kay CollingeCollinge
20012002Pamela Anne MatsonMatsonPres bio
20012004Jill Spann BaronBaron
20022004Osvaldo Esteban SalaSala
20022004Edward A. JohnsonJohnson
20022003Ann Marie BartuskaBartuskaPres bio
20022005Norman LeRoy Christensen Jr.Christensen
20022005Alison Gail PowerPower
20032005Margaret Ann PalmerPalmer
20032004William Harrison SchlesingerSchlesingerPres bio
20042006Shahid NaeemNaeem
20042006P. Dee BoersmaBoersma
20042005Jerry Michael MelilloMelillo
20042010David William InouyeInouye
20042007Gaius Robert ShaverShaver
20052007Dennis Shoji OjimaOjima
20052006Nancy Beth GrimmGrimm
20052011William J. PartonParton
20052008Richard Vincent PouyatPouyat
20062008Jayne BelknapBelknap
20062008Juan ArmestoArmesto
20062007Alan Paul CovichCovich
20062012Margaret D. LowmanLowman
20072009Ann P. KinzigKinzig
20072008Norman LeRoy Christensen Jr.Christensen
20072011Robert B. JacksonJackson
20082010Emily H. StanleyStanley
20082010Josh SchimelSchimel
20082009Alison Gail PowerPower
20082011Laura F. HuennekeHuenneke
20092011Debra PetersPeters
20092010Mary Eleanor PowerPower
20102012Andrea H. LloydLloyd
20102012Lisa GraumlichGraumlich
20102011Francis Stuart Chapin IIIChapin
20102016Charles D. CanhamCanham
20112013Mimi E. LamLam
20112012Steward T.A. PickettPickett
20112014Leslie A. RealReal
20112014Sharon K. CollingeCollinge
20112013Deborah GoldbergGoldberg
20122014Michelle C. MackMack
20122014Stephen T. JacksonJackson
20122013Scott L. CollinsCollins
20122015Julie ReynoldsReynolds
20132015Carmen CidCid
20132014Jill Spann BaronBaron
20132016Valerie EvinerEviner
20142016Ana Elisa Perez-QuinteroPerez-Quintero
20142016Leah R. GerberGerber
20142015David William InouyeInouye
20142020Evan H. DeLuciaDeLucia
20142015Scott L. CollinsCollins
20152017Kathryn CottinghamCottingham
20152016Monica TurnerTurner
20152018Nalini NadkarniNadkarni
20152020Frank DavisDavis
20162018Sharon HallHall
20162018Emily CloydCloyd
20162017David LodgeLodgePres bio
20162022Jessica GurevitchGurevitch
20162019Jayne BelnapBelnap
20172019Gillian BowserBowser
20172018Richard PouyatPouyat
20182019Laura F. HuennekeHuenneke
20182021Pamela TemplerTempler
20182020Manual MoralesMorales
20182020Kathleen TresederTreseder
20192020Osvaldo SalaSala
20192022Diane PatakiPatakiAnnouncement
20222025Diane PatakiPatakiAnnouncement
20192021Jacquelyn GillGill
20202021Kathleen WeathersWeathers
20202022Laura PetesPetesAnnouncement
20222023Laura PetesPetesAnnouncement
20202026Jeannine Cavender-BaresCavender-BaresAnnouncement
20202022Zoe CardonCardonAnnouncement
20202022Sasha ReedReedAnnouncement
20212022Dennis OjimaOjimaAnnouncement
20212022Carmen R. CidCidAnnouncement
20222024Carmen R. CidCid
20212024Jennifer FunkFunkAnnouncement
20222025Emilio BrunaBrunaAnnouncement
20222025Jay T. LennonLennonAnnouncement
20222025Kelly RamirezRamirezAnnouncement
20222023Sharon K. CollingeCollingeAnnouncement
20232024Shahid NaeemNaeemAnnouncement
20242025Stephanie E. HamptonHamptonAnnouncement
20232026James Rattling Leaf, SrRattling LeafAnnouncement
20252026Peter M. GroffmanGroffmanAnnouncement
20242027Angee DoerrDoerrAnnouncement
20242027Alex MooreMooreAnnouncement
20242027Yude PanPanAnnouncement