Gerhard Casper

Gerhard Casper
Gerhard Casper at Stanford University
Ninth President of Stanford University
In office 1992–2000
Preceded by	Donald Kennedy
Succeeded by	John L. Hennessy
Personal details
Born	(1937-12-25) December 25, 1937 (age 79) Hamburg, Germany
Alma mater	University of Hamburg Yale University University of Freiburg
Profession	Political Scientist

Gerhard Casper (born December 25, 1937) was the ninth president of Stanford University from 1992 to 2000. He is currently president of the American Academy in Berlin. Casper is also a senior fellow at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies (FSI) at Stanford, and has been appointed to serve as the institute’s director between September 1, 2012 and August 31, 2013. Casper is also the Peter and Helen Bing Professor in Undergraduate Education, emeritus, and is a professor, emeritus, at Stanford Law School.

Born December 25, 1937, Gerhard Casper grew up in Hamburg, Germany. He earned his first law degree from the University of Hamburg in 1961. In 1962, he received his LL.M. from Yale University. He then attended the University of Freiburg, where he obtained his doctorate in 1964.

In the fall of 1964, Casper immigrated to the United States and spent two years as an assistant professor of political science at the University of California, Berkeley. In 1966, he joined the faculty of the University of Chicago Law School. Between 1979 and 1987, he served as dean of the law school. In 1989, Casper was appointed provost of the University of Chicago and served in that capacity until 1992. He served as president of Stanford University from 1992 to 2000.

Casper has written and taught primarily in the fields of constitutional law, constitutional history, comparative law, and legal theory. Among his books is Separating Power (Harvard University Press, 1997). From 1977 to 1990, he was an editor of The Supreme Court Review.

In 1992, Casper became the ninth president of Stanford University. His concerns as president ranged from resolution of the indirect cost dispute with the federal government to restoration of the campus after the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake to innovation in curriculum, programs, and physical plant.

Casper’s Commission on Undergraduate Education was the first comprehensive examination of undergraduate education at Stanford in 25 years. The commission and other faculty initiatives led to a new approach to the first two years of college, Stanford Introductory Studies (SIS), which provides small-group learning and research experiences. SIS includes the Freshman and Sophomore Introductory Seminars and Sophomore College.