William Goodell Frost (July 2, 1854 – September 11, 1938) was an American educator who served as the third president of Berea College from 1890 to 1920, and a scholar of the Greek language.

"[1][2] William Goodell Frost was born in Le Roy, New York on July 2, 1854, to Rev.

While serving as president, Frost coined the term "Appalachian American" when the school changed its mission from educating black and white students together to simply educating "Appalachian Americans" in response to the segregationist 1904 Day Law and Supreme Court ruling in Berea College v. Kentucky.

Berea then formed and funded the Lincoln Institute in Louisville for African American students.

He died at his home on the college campus on September 11, 1938, and was buried at Berea Cemetery.