The president of Columbia University is the chief officer of Columbia University in New York City. The position was created in 1754 by the original royal charter for the university, issued by George II, and the power to appoint the president was given to an autonomous board of trustees. The university suspended operations upon the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War, during which no individual served as president. When it was resuscitated by the New York State Legislature, the university was placed directly under the control of the Board of Regents of the University of the State of New York; its chancellor, George Clinton, served as the de facto president of Columbia University. Through the efforts of Alexander Hamilton and John Jay, control of the university was returned to a private board of trustees in 1787, which has to this day maintained the right to appoint or remove the president, who also serves on the board ex officio. The university's first president was Samuel Johnson, who held the office from 1754 to 1763, and its 20th and current president is Minouche Shafik, whose tenure began on July 1, 2023.

Columbia University, officially Columbia University in the City of New York, is a private, Ivy League, research university in New York City, United States. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhattan, it is the oldest institution of higher education in New York and the fifth-oldest in the United States and is considered one of the most prestigious universities in the world.