Previous Provosts
The Trustees of the University established the Office of the Provost in 1811 and appointed John M. Mason. Five years later, the Office was abolished with the President assuming most of the duties of the Provost. From the time the Office was reestablished in 1912 until the present, the precise title (or titles, in some cases) has changed but the responsibility as the chief academic officer of the University has remained constant. The following lists the Provosts of the University and their exact titles by date of service:
| 1811–1816 | John M. Mason, Provost |
| 1816 | Office abolished |
| 1912–1927 | William H. Carpenter, Provost |
| 1927–1937 | Position vacant. Milton Del Manzo served as Provost for Summer Sessions during this period. |
| 1937–1946 | Frank Diehl Fackenthal, Provost |
| 1946–1947 | Position vacant. Dr. Fackenthal served as Acting President. |
| 1947–1949 | Albert C. Jacobs, Provost |
| 1949–1953 | Grayson L. Kirk, Provost |
| 1953–1958 | John A. Krout, Provost |
| 1958–1967 | Jacques Barzun, Dean of Faculties and Provost |
| 1967–1969 | David B. Truman, Vice President and Provost |
| 1969 | Paul D. Carter, Provost Polykarp Kusch, Vice President and Dean of Faculties |
| 1969–1970 | Peter B. Kenen, Provost Polykarp Kusch, Vice President and Dean of Faculties |
| 1970–1971 | Polykarp Kusch, Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost |
| 1971–1978 | Wm. Theodore de Bary, Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost |
| 1978–1979 | Norman N. Mintz, Acting Provost |
| 1979–1980 | Michael I. Sovern, Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost |
| 1980–1981 | Henrik H. Bendixen, Acting Provost (Health Sciences) and Acting Vice President for Health Sciences Peter Likins, Provost (Morningside Professional Schools) Fritz Stern, Provost (Arts and Sciences) |
| 1981–1982 | Robert F. Goldberger, Provost (Health Sciences) and Vice President for Health Sciences Peter Likins, Provost (Morningside Professional Schools) Fritz Stern, Provost (Arts and Sciences) |
| 1982–1983 | Robert F. Goldberger, Provost (Health Sciences and Morningside Professional Schools) and Vice President for Health Sciences Fritz Stern, Provost (Arts and Sciences) |
| 1983–1989 | Robert F. Goldberger, Provost |
| 1987 | Fritz Stern, Acting Provost (Robert F. Goldberger served as Acting President) |
| 1989–1994 | Jonathan R. Cole, Provost |
| 1994–2003 | Jonathan R. Cole, Provost and Dean of Faculties |
| 2003– | Alan Brinkley, Provost |