The first president of Harpur College, who began as dean of Triple Cities College, was Glenn Bartle. The second president, George Bruce Dearing, served several years during the Vietnam era before leaving to become vice chancellor for academic affairs at the SUNY Central Administration in Albany. Next was C. Peter Magrath, former interim president of the University of Nebraska, who served from 1972 to 1974 then left to become president at the University of Minnesota.