Frederick Augustus Porter Barnard (May 5, 1809 – April 27, 1889) was an American academic and educator who served as the 10th President of Columbia University.

In the same year he took up position as a professor of mathematics and natural philosophy at the University of Mississippi, where he eventually assumed the office of chancellor from 1856 through to the outbreak of the American Civil War in 1861, when he resigned due to his Unionist sympathies.

During his time at the university he was subject to scrutiny from the board of trustees for taking the testimony of a slave against that of a student who had allegedly assaulted her.

New departments were established; the elective system was greatly extended, greater provisions were made for graduate study and original research, and enrolment increased from approximately 150 students to over 1000.

He was known as a skilled public speaker, with his annual reports to the Board of Trustees including valuable discussions of educational problems.

[8] Other texts authored by Barnard, include Treatise on Arithmetic (1830), Analytical Grammar with Symbolic Illustration (1836), Letters on Collegiate Government (1855), History of the United States Coast Survey (1857), Recent Progress in Science (1869), and The Metric System (1871).