William Augustus Stearns

William Augustus Stearns (1805 in Bedford, Massachusetts – June 8, 1876) was a 19th-century American Reformed minister and teacher who served as president of Amherst College from 1854 to 1876.

William A. Stearns graduated from Harvard College in 1827 and then Andover Seminary in 1831. Stearns served as pastor of Prospect Street Congregational Church from 1831 to 1854 when he left to become president of Amherst College. He served as president from 1854 until his death in 1876 and was one of the school's longest serving presidents.