Edward Asahel Birge (Acting President: 1900-1903)

For most of 1900 and 1901 while Adams was ill, Edward A. Birge, dean of the College of Letters and Science, served as acting president, a position he continued in after Adams’ death.

Birge did not campaign actively for the presidency, and he lost a close vote by the Board of Regents to Charles Van Hise.

Birge subsequently was named president following Van Hise’s untimely death in 1918.