Guy Stanton Ford (1873–1962) was the sixth president of the University of Minnesota from October of 1938–1941. He served as the first Dean of the Graduate School and chair of the Department of History. President Ford overturned racial segregation in publicly financed student housing immediately upon assuming the acting presidency because of President Coffman’s illness. He played a critical role in bringing the William Schaper case to the Board of Regents. Schaper had been fired by the Regents as insufficiently pro-war in 1917. Not only did the Regents overturn the decision, but they also adopted a code of Academic Freedom for faculty that President Ford initiated. He transformed the University of Minnesota.

Because of his age, Ford was required to retire in 1941 and became Executive Secretary of the American Historical Association.