The Reverend Philip Milledoler (1775 near Rhinebeck, New York – 22 September 1852) was the fifth President of Rutgers College (now Rutgers University) serving from 1810 until his death in 1825.

Graduated from Columbia College with a Bachelor of Arts (A.B.) in 1794, Reverend Milledoler was ordained into the ministry by the German Reformed Synod in Reading, Pennsylvania and serving churches in both the Presbyterian and Dutch Reformed faiths. A noted pastor in New York, Milledoler was active in forming the Princeton Theological Seminary, American Bible Society and the United Foreign Missionary Society . In 1825, Reverend Milledoler accepted the presidency of Queen's College after the death of John Henry Livingston, and convinced one of his parishioners in New York City, Colonel Henry Rutgers, a wealthy bachelor, to donate $5000 to the college sparking a drive to reopen the institution. The Board of Trustees returned the compliment by naming the institution after Colonel Rutgers, and Rutgers College was reopened on 14 November 1825.

Reverend Milledoler was responsible for reorganizing the curriculum of Rutgers College into one that instructed in the liberal arts, offering courses in Greek and Latin, Mathematics, Philosophy, Literature, Political Economy, and later lectures in Geology, Mineralogy and Chemistry. During this time, enrollment at Rutgers College increased, and the college became more independent of the Dutch Reformed Church. This increased dissension between the Church and the college prompted Reverend Milledoler to resign in 1839, remaining on the post until the Trustees selected a replacement. He died 22 September 1852 in New York City.

External links

• Rutgers University
• Leadership on the Banks: Rutgers' Presidents, 1766–2004