William Clarke Young (April 23, 1842 – September 16, 1896) was an American minister, educator, and academic administrator who was the eighth president of Centre College in Danville, Kentucky, from 1888 until his death in 1896.

He had a 23-year career in the ministry, serving congregations in Kentucky, Indiana, and Illinois, before returning to Centre to accept the presidency following the resignation of Ormond Beatty.

During Young's eight-year presidency, the college established a law school, constructed numerous buildings, and retroactively conferred degrees upon some of its first female graduates.

[3] Young took over a group of six faculty members,[8] who taught subjects including metaphysics, moral philosophy, natural and physical sciences, Greek, and Latin.

He wrote to the college's trustees in 1892 that sports would be "undoubtedly beneficial to the students" if properly controlled, but "[would] provide a nuisance and work evil to all" if not restricted by "stringent rules".

[14] All four of Young's half-sisters had studied at Centre and completed coursework (Mary and Caroline in 1849, and Jane and Frances in 1851), though none of them received degrees at the time.

[2] As a result, Mary, Caroline, and Jane, the three surviving sisters, were formally awarded Bachelor of Arts degrees by the college in 1891.

[14] The General Assembly was a particularly eventful one, as it included the church's formal denunciation of historical criticism and the heresy trial of Charles Augustus Briggs.

[6] He was preparing to hear the students' recitations when he retired to the office of professor Alfred B. Nelson, laid back in his chair and "gave a gasp" before dying.