George Erik Rupp (born September 22, 1942, in Summit, NJ, US) is an American educator and theologian, who served successively as president of Rice University, Columbia University, and the International Rescue Committee.
Biography
Rupp was born in Summit, New Jersey, the son of German immigrant parents, and was raised in Springfield Township, Union County, New Jersey. He then received a Bachelor of Divinity degree from Yale Divinity School and, after studying for a year in Sri Lanka, a Ph.D. in religion from Harvard University. He is an ordained Presbyterian minister, but mostly retired from preaching by the mid-1980s.
In July 2013, Rupp became a senior fellow at the Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs, and in April 2015 he was elected chair of the International Baccalaureate Organization. He has remained actively involved with Columbia University in his post-presidency as a distinguished visiting scholar at the Institute for Religion, Culture, and Public Life; as of 2015, he also served as an adjunct professor of comparative religion, public health, and international affairs.
He is the author numerous articles, opinion pieces, and book chapters and also of seven books:
- Christologies and Cultures: Toward a Typology of Religious Worldviews
- Beyond Existentialism and Zen: Religion in a Pluralistic World
- Culture Protestantism': German Liberal Theology at the Turn of the 20th Century
- Commitment and Community
- Globalization Challenged: Conviction, Conflict, Community
- Beyond Individualism: The Challenge of Inclusive Communities
- The Heart of Community: A Family Journey
George and his wife Nancy are the parents of two adult daughters who are teaching and writing, one with scholarly expertise in East Asia and the other a specialist in African studies, and are the grandparents of six children: four boys and two girls.
Rupp was chosen as Rice University's commencement speaker for 2008.