Atlantic Union Presidents
Presidents who served the Atlantic Union Conference from 1901 to the Present
Hampton Watson Cottrell (October 21, 1852 – December 15, 1940)
Term of Office: April 1901 – November 1905 (4 years, 7 months)
Cottrell was the first president to serve the Eastern Union (renamed Atlantic Union) when it was organized on April 16, 1901, at the Thirty-fourth General Conference Session at Battle Creek, Mich. He went on to serve as president of the Pacific Union.
Eugene William Farnsworth (November 27, 1847 – December 7, 1935)
Term of Office: November 1905 – June 1909 (3 years, 7 months)
Farnsworth was elected on November 7, 1905, in the twelfth meeting of the Third Biennial Session held at the church at South Lancaster, Mass. He went on to head the Bible Department at what is now Columbia Union College.
William Byington White (November 10, 1856 – November 22, 1948)
Term of Office: June 1909 – June 1913 (4 years)
In a meeting on June 30, 1909, the Atlantic Union Executive Committee invited White to serve as president. He went on to serve as president of the South Africa Union.
Rollin David Quinn (August 27, 1869 – August 13, 1928)
Term of Office: June 1913 – October 1919 (6 years, 4 months)
In a meeting on June 8, 1913, the Atlantic Union Executive Committee invited Quinn to serve as president. He was called to serve a “larger and broader field of labor.”
Edwin K. Slade (May 6, 1865 – June 12, 1952)
Term of Office: October 1919 – April 1932 (12 years, 7 months)
In a meeting on October 12, 1919, the Atlantic Union Executive Committee invited Slade to serve as president. He went on to serve as president of the North Pacific Union. Slade served the second longest term of the nineteen presidents in the Atlantic Union—twelve years and seven months.
John Kelty Jones (December 26, 1882 – July 7, 1943)
Term of Office: April 1932 – June 1936 (4 years, 2 months)
Jones was elected to serve as president on April 5, 1932 at the Twelfth Atlantic Union Conference Session held at City Temple in New York City. He went on to serve as president of the Southern Union Conference.
William Henry Heckman (January 17, 1869 – December 27, 1938)
Term of Office: June 1936 – December 1938 (2 years, 6 months)
On June 4, 1936, in a meeting held in the Civic Auditorium in San Francisco, Calif., the Atlantic Union Executive Committee invited Heckman to serve as president. While on tour in Europe visiting the missions stations in the Near East, he died in Beyrouth, Syria after an acute illness of only three days.
Mangram Leslie Rice (September 16, 1888 – November 18, 1966)
Term of Office: February 1939 – March 1951 (12 years, 1 month)
In a meeting on February 2, 1939, the Atlantic Union Executive Committee invited Rice to serve as president filling the vacancy caused by the death of Heckman. He went on to serve as president of the Lake Union. Rice served the third longest term of the nineteen presidents in the Atlantic Union—twelve years and one month.
Lewis E. Lenheim (September 28, 1902 – October 12, 1982)
Term of Office: March 1951 – June 1958 (7 years, 3 months)
Lenheim was elected on March 12, 1951, at the third meeting of the Sixteenth Atlantic Union Conference Session held at Manhattan church in New York City. He went on to serve as president of the Columbia Union Conference.
Willis J. Hackett (February 11, 1915 – November 11, 1993)
Term of Office: June 1958 – November 1964 (6 years, 5 months)
On June 26, 1958, the Atlantic Union Executive Committee invited Hackett to serve as president. He went on to serve as president of the North Pacific Union Conference.
Francis R. Millard (August 11, 1903 – June 11, 1990)
Term of Office: November 1964 – August 1969 (4 years, 9 months)
In a meeting on November 9, 1964, the Atlantic Union Executive Committee invited Millard to serve as president succeeding Hackett. He served in this position until he retired.
Kenneth W. Tilghman (May 26, 1913 – January 12, 2004)
Term of Office: August 1969 – April 1971 (1 year, 8 months)
In a meeting on August 27, 1969, the Atlantic Union Executive Committee invited Tilghman to serve as president. He served as secretary/treasurer of the Atlantic Union from 1963 until his call to the presidency. He went on to serve as general manager of the Review and Herald Publishing Association.
Jesse L. Dittberner (May 6, 1914 – December 27, 1999)
Term of Office: April 1971 – March 1979 (8 years, 1 month)
Dittberner was elected on April 21, 1971 in the fifth meeting at the Twenty-first Quadrennial Session of the Atlantic Union Conference held at Camp Berkshire, Wingdale, N.Y. This position was his last assignment in church work before retiring in 1979.
Earl W. Amundson (September 29, 1923 – November 18, 2001)
Term of Office: March 1979 – December 1985 (6 years, 9 months)
In a meeting on February 14, 1979, the Atlantic Union Executive Committee invited Amundson to serve as president filling the vacancy created by the retirement of Dittberner. He retired after forty years of uninterrupted service.
Philip S. Follet (March 15, 1932 – October 7, 2011)
Term of Office: January 1986 – December 1992 (6 years)
In a meeting on December 17, 1985, the Atlantic Union Executive Committee invited Follett to serve as president filling the vacancy created by the retirement of Amundson. He went on to serve as a vice president of the General Conference until his retirement in 2000. After his retirement, he served as president of LifeTalk Radio until 2008 and served part-time in various capacities until August 2011. Follett died on October 7, 2011, in his hometown of Collegedale, Tennessee.
David L. Taylor
Term of Office: January 1993 – December 1994 (2 years)
In a meeting on December 8, 1992, the Atlantic Union Executive Committee invited Taylor to serve as president succeeding Follett. Taylor resigned the presidency of the Atlantic Union due to illness. He served as emeritus professor in the School of Religion at Loma Linda University until his retirement.
Theodore T. Jones II
Term of Office: January 1995 – June 2000 (5 years, 6 months)
In a meeting on November 6, 1994, the Atlantic Union Executive Committee invited Jones to serve as president succeeding Taylor. He served as an associate secretary of the General Conference until his retirement in 2010.
Benjamin D. Schoun
Term of Office: August 2000 – January 2002 (1 year, 5 months)
The Atlantic Union Executive Committee, in a meeting on August 3, 2000, invited Benjamin Schoun to serve as president succeeding Theodore Jones. Schoun previously served as president of the Northern New England Conference. Schoun went on to serve as AWR president in January 2002. He served as a general vice president at the General Conference until his retirement in 2015.
Donald G. King
Term of Office: February 2002 – June 2016 (14 years, 4 months)
In a meeting on February 25, 2002, the Atlantic Union Conference Executive Committee invited Donald G. King to serve as president succeeding Benjamin Schoun. King previously served as assistant health ministries director at the General Conference, executive secretary for the Alberta Conference and the Atlantic Union Conference, and president of the Northeastern Conference. King served the longest term of the 19 presidents in the Atlantic Union—14 years and four months.
G. Earl Knight
Term of Office: June 2016 – November 2021 (5 years, 5 months)
At the June 20, 2016, Atlantic Union Conference Constituency Session, G. Earl Knight was voted to serve as the 20th president of the Atlantic Union. He previously served as president of the Greater New York Conference.
Pierre E. Omeler
Term of Office: November 2021 – Present
At the November 17, 2021, Atlantic Union Conference Executive Committee meeting Pierre Omeler was elected to serve as the 21st president of the Atlantic Union. He previously served as executive secretary of the Atlantic Union Conference.