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The president of The Evergreen State College reports to the Board of Trustees, which is appointed by the governor. According to "The Evergreen State College Position Description: President" the principal accountabilities are:

1) Advise the Board of Trustees on college policy and assure implementation of Board policy;

2) Participate in framing and implementing college academic policy;

3) Select, direct, and motivate senior administrative officers;

4) Establish the framework for financial support by making final decisions for college budget requests before submission to the Board, and by presenting Board approved budget requests to the governor and the legislature;

5) Enhance state financial support by actively seeking funds from private sources;

6) Act as spokesperson and advocate for the college with the governor, legislature, higher education coordinating board, federal government, state and national education community, donors, community and business leaders, alumni, Evergreen Foundation, and students and parents

7) Represent Evergreen on the Council of Presidents;

8) Exchange information and maintain regular, frequent contact with students, faculty and staff;

9) Assure that affirmative action policies are established and implemented; and

10) Foster professional development by periodically participating in an on-campus academic program or in other professional development opportunities.

There have been five presidents at The Evergreen State College and one interim president. One president, Les Purce, served as interim president prior to being hired as president.

McCann, Charles, 1968-1977

Dr. Charles J. McCann was born 24 February 1926 and grew up in Bristol Connecticut. He received his Bachelors of Arts in Navel Science from Yale in 1946, his Masters in Science in Merchandising in 1947 from New York University, from 1941 to 1952 he attended Trinity College evenings and summers to earn his undergraduate major in English and education, his Masters in Arts in English from Yale in 1954, and his Ph.D. in English from Yale in 1956. He was a Junior Watch Officer for the U.S.S. Murrelet from 1946-57, worked in various positions in the merchandizing and sales field from 1947-1951 while studying English. In 1951 he became a high school English teacher in Hartford, CT, in 1955 He became a part-time instructor at New Haven College, from 1956-1962 he was an Assistant Professor of English at Canisius College. Starting in 1962 he held various positions at Central Washington University including: Associate Professor of English from 1962-1966, Chairman, Department of English from 1963-1964, Assistant to the President from 1964-1965, Acting Dean of Faculty from 1965-1966, and Dean of Faculty, Professor of English 1966-1968. In 1968 he was selected to serve as the first president of The Evergreen State College. He served as the president until 1977. After that time he became part of the faculty teaching Literature from 1977-1991. He retired in 1992 and taught as emeritus from 1992 to 2009.

Evans, Daniel J. 1977-1984

Dan Evans was born 16 October 1925 in Seattle, WA. In 1943 he joined the U.S. Navy. After the war he earned his Bachelor of Science and Masters of Science in Civil Engineering from the University of Washington in 1948 and 1949 respectively. He was a structural engineer for Seattle for two years, then when the Korean War began, he reenlisted in the Navy as a lieutenant. He went into private practice as an engineer when the war ended. In 1956, he was elected to the Washington State House of Representatives. He was a Republican in a mostly Democratic state government. During this time he honed his bipartisan skills. In 1964, he became the youngest governor in Washington State history at age 39. He served three terms as governor until 1977. During his time as governor he crossed many party lines and supported environmental issues, education, and tax reform. He worked with the legislature to create the state community college system. He had supported the Legislation to create The Evergreen State College (TESC) in 1967 and was at the college opening in 1971. In 1977, he returned to TESC as the college's second president. During his tenure as president, he fought to keep the school's doors open and to improve the school's overall reputation. He held this position until 1983, when he was appointed to fill the Senate seat that became vacant when Senator Henry M. Jackson died. He was elected in the special election held two months later and finished Jackson's term. He decided that he was not going to run for reelection. At this time he opened a small firm, Daniel J. Evans Associates. In addition to running his firm he was a commentator for KIRO-TV (1989-1994), founded the Washington Wildlife and Recreation Coalition with Mike Lowery (1989), and was appointed to the University of Washington's Board of Regents (1993-2005) where he served as vice president (1995-1996) and president (1996-1997). He was on many different corporate, educational and non-profit boards. In 2000, the University of Washington Graduate School of Public Affairs was renamed The Evans School of Public Affairs in his honor. He is married to Nancy Bell Evans, and they have three sons and several grandchildren.

Schwartz, Richard (Interim), 1983-1985

Richard N. Schwartz was hired as the Vice President for Business in 1980. In 1983 he became the Interim President when Dan Evans was unexpectedly called to fill a U.S. Senate vacancy. Schwartz held the interim position for eighteen months until Joseph Olander was hired as president, at which time Schwartz resumed his position as Vice President for Business. He resigned August 1985, planning to complete his doctorate in political science and his dissertation "The Political Implications of the City of Detroit's infrastructure Deterioration." Prior to his tenure at The Evergreen State College, Schwartz served as vice president at University of Michigan, Dearborn and Stockton State College in New Jersey. He was involved in the creation process at Stockton, which was created in similar circumstances and during the same time as The Evergreen State College.

Olander, Joseph 1985-1991

Joseph Olander was born 15 March 1939 in Hazelton, PA. He graduated from the University of Maryland through the Far East Division of University College with a Bachelor of Arts 1964. In 1966, he graduated with a Master of Arts in Teaching with a specialty in Social Studies. He received his Ph.D from Indiana University. Prior to The Evergreen State College (TESC) he held various college administration positions. His prior experience is as follows: Vice President for Academic Affairs and Professor of English at the University of Texas at El Paso (1979-1985); Executive Vice President and Professor of Political Science at Florida International University (1977-1979); Special Assistant for Higher Education to the Commissioner of Education state of Florida(1975-1977); Associate Dean, College of Arts and Sciences and Associate Professor of Political Science at Florida International University (1973-1975); Chairman, Department of Political Science and Associate Professor of Political Science at Florida International University (1971-1973); Assistant Professor of Politics and Public Affairs at the University of Miami (1969-1971); and an instructor at Rollins College Graduate Program in Education (1968-1969). He edited many textbooks and Science Fiction anthologies. In 1985, he was selected to become the third president of The Evergreen State College. In 1990 he resigned from the position. He was married to Cookie Olander and had three children.

Jervis, Jane 1992-2000

Jane Jervis received her Artium Baccalaureus from Radcliffe College in Physical Sciences in 1959. At Yale she received her Masters of Arts in 1974, her Masters in Philosophy in 1975 and her Ph.D. in History of Science in 1978. Prior to her tenure as President of The Evergreen State College, she has worked in many administrative and teaching capacities. In the academic year of 1977-1978 she was lecturer in the history of science at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. From 1978 to 1982 she was Dean of Davenport College and a lecturer in History of Science at Yale College.; from 1982 to 1987 she was the Dean of Students and Associate Professor of History at Hamilton College; and from 1988 to 1991 she held the position of Dean of College and Lecturer in History, as well as the Acting President in the summer of 1990 for Bowdoin College. She was hired in 1992 for the position of President of The Evergreen State College. She retired from the position in 2000, at this time she also earned emeritus status. Jane has been affiliated with several professional organizations including: History of Science Society; Midwest Junto of the History of Science Society, National Association of Women Deans, Administrators and Counselors, Association of American Colleges, and American Council on Education. She has also published scholarly works on the History of Science and delivered many presentations on the History of Science and leadership.

Purce, Les 2000-

Thomas Les Purce was born 13 November 1946 in Pocatello, Idaho. He graduated from Idaho State University with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology in 1969, a Master in Arts in Education in 1970, and his Doctor of Counselor Education in 1975. In addition he attended Harvard's Institute for Educational Management. In 1973 he was elected to the Pocatello City Council, becoming the first black elected official in Idaho. In 1976, he was elected the Mayor of Pocatello. in 1977, he became the director of Idaho's Department of Administration then the Department of Health and Welfare. After working with the state he became the Special Assistant to the President and Director of Research Park and Economic Development at Idaho State University. In 1989 he came to The Evergreen State College (TESC) in the capacity of Vice President for College Advancement. From 1991 to 1992 he served as Interim President of the college. From 1992 to 1995 he was Executive Vice President for TESC. In 1995 he was the Vice President of Extended University Affairs and Dean of Extended Academic Programs at Washington State University. In 2000, he returned to TESC as President. He has also served on local boards including Vice President of the Board of the Northwest African American Museum. He is married to Jane Sherman and they have three daughters.