The president acts as the chief executive officer of the university under the authority of the board and the senate, and supervises and directs the academic and administrative work of the university and of its teaching and non-teaching staff. The office was created in 1949, with George Gilmour serving as the university's first president. The office of the vice-chancellor, created at the same time as the office of president, has always been held by the incumbent president of the university. The university president, David H. Farrar, has served the post on an interim basis since 1 July 2019, although his tenure as the official university president did not begin until the following year.