Editing Rector (academia) (section)

==North America==

===Canada===
As in most Commonwealth and British-influenced countries, the term "rector" is not commonly used in English in Canada outside Quebec.

Quebec's francophone universities (e.g., {{Lang|fr|[[Université de Montréal]]}})  use the term (''recteur'' or ''rectrice'' in French) to designate the head of the institution.  In addition, the historically French-Catholic, and now bilingual, [[Saint Paul University]] in [[Ottawa]], Ontario uses the term to denote its head.  St. Paul's College, the Roman Catholic College of the University of Manitoba, uses the term 'rector' to designate the head of the college.  St. Boniface College, the French College of the University of Manitoba, uses 'recteur' or 'rectrice' to designate the head of the college.

At the bilingual [[University of Ottawa]], the term president has been used since 2008, but before that time rector was used for the English name; however, ''recteur'' (or ''rectrice'') continues to be used as the French term for the head of the university.

[[Queen's University at Kingston|Queen's University]] ([[Kingston, Ontario]]) uses the term "rector".  The term refers to a member of the student body elected to work as an equal with the [[chancellor (education)|chancellor]] and [[Principal (university)|principal]]. The Badge of Office of the Rector of Queen's University was registered with the [[Canadian Heraldic Authority]] on 15 October 2004.<ref>http://archive.gg.ca/heraldry/pub-reg/project.asp?lang=e&ProjectID=511 Badge of Office</ref> See [[List of Rectors of Queen's University]]. [[University of Ontario Institute of Technology]] also use the title.

=== Mexico ===
[[File:Enrique Graue Wiechers.jpg|thumb|[[Enrique Graue Wiechers|Enrique Graue]] 34th Rector of the [[National Autonomous University of Mexico|UNAM]] during his inaugural speech.]]
In Mexico, the term "rector" refers to the highest authority of most of National and State Universities, it is also usual in private Universities. The Schools and Faculties (''Facultades'' in Spanish) are in charge of Directors which are below the authority of the rector. The rector is often selected from the full time professors and have periods which vary in the different universities.

The rector of the [[National Autonomous University of Mexico]], the most relevant Mexican university, is an important mediatic figure of academic authority for all the country. The political relevance of the university makes the rector office one disputed political position and the ex-rectors are often related with the public service after their appointment, for example, [[Juan Ramón de la Fuente]] rector from 1999 to 2007 was [[Permanent Mission of Mexico to the United Nations|Permanent Representative of Mexico to the United Nations]] between 2018 and 2024, and since then is [[Ministry of foreign affairs|Minister for Foreign Affairs]] in the government of [[Claudia Sheinbaum]]. Similarly, [[José Narro Robles]] rector from  2007 to 2015 was after head of the [[Secretariat of Health (Mexico)|Ministry of Health]]. Since 2015 the office of rector on the UNAM is occupied by [[Enrique Graue Wiechers]], who was appointed for his second and last period (2019-2023).

===United States===
Most U.S. colleges do not use the term "rector." The terms "president" and "chancellor" are often used for the chief executive of universities and university systems, depending on the institution's statutes or governing documents. Some state university systems have both "presidents" of the constituent institutions and a "chancellor" of the overall system, or vice versa; for example, in the [[University of California|University of California system]], each of the ten campuses is headed by a chancellor, while the leader of the system is given the title "president." Colleges and universities, or state systems, also typically have [[Governing boards of colleges and universities in the United States|governing boards]] (akin to a [[board of directors]]), which may be referred to by a variety of names, including "board of trustees" and "board of regents", and which are usually led by a chairperson.

"Rector" is commonly used in [[Virginia]], however. The [[University of Virginia]] ([[Charlottesville, Virginia|Charlottesville]]), [[University of Mary Washington]] ([[Fredericksburg, Virginia|Fredericksburg]]), [[George Mason University]] ([[Fairfax, Virginia|Fairfax]]), [[Virginia State University]] ([[Petersburg, Virginia|Petersburg]]), [[Virginia Commonwealth University]] ([[Richmond, Virginia|Richmond]]), [[Longwood University]] ([[Farmville, Virginia|Farmville]]), [[Washington and Lee University]] ([[Lexington, Virginia|Lexington]]), the [[College of William and Mary]] ([[Williamsburg, Virginia|Williamsburg]]), [[Old Dominion University]] ([[Norfolk, Virginia|Norfolk]]), [[Christopher Newport University]] ([[Newport News, Virginia|Newport News]]), and [[Virginia Tech]] ([[Blacksburg, Virginia|Blacksburg]]) all use the term "Rector" to designate the presiding officer of the [[Board of Visitors]] (or "Board of Trustees", in the case of Washington and Lee). [[Thomas Jefferson]] served as the first rector of the University of Virginia, beginning in 1819, and intended that the school would not have a president; it lacked that position until 1904.

From 1701 to 1745, the head of the school that was to become [[Yale University]] was termed the "rector".  As head of [[Yale College]], [[Thomas Clap]] was both the last to be called "rector" (1740–1745) and the first to be referred to as president (1745–1766).  Modern custom omits the use of the term "rector" and identifies [[Abraham Pierson]] as the first Yale president (1701–1707), making Clap the fifth of Yale's leaders, regardless of title.<ref>Welch, Lewis ''et al.'' (1899). [https://books.google.com/books?id=V8wWAAAAIAAJ&dq=Yale+and+Noah+Porter&pg=PA445 ''Yale, Her Campus, Class-rooms, and Athletics,'' p. 445.]</ref>

Several [[Catholic Church|Catholic]] colleges and universities, particularly those run by [[Catholic religious order|religious orders of priests]] (such as the [[Jesuits]]) used to employ the term "rector" to refer to the school's chief officer. In many cases, the rector was also the head of the community of priests assigned to the school, so the two posts &ndash; head of the university and local superior of the priests &ndash; were merged in the role of rector (''See "[[Rector (ecclesiastical)|Ecclesiastical rectors]]"''). This practice is mostly no longer followed, as the details of the governance of most of these schools have changed. [[Creighton University]] still appoints a rector. At the [[University of Notre Dame]], the title "rector" is used for those in charge of individual [[University of Notre Dame residence halls|residence halls]].

Some American high schools also have a rector; for example, at [[St. Paul's School (New Hampshire)|St. Paul's School]] in [[New Hampshire]], the rector is equivalent to a [[Head teacher|headmaster]] (head of the school).