George Rupp

George Rupp "has been president of the International Rescue Committee since July 2002.

"Before joining the IRC, Dr. Rupp was president of Columbia University. During his nine-year tenure, he focused on enhancing undergraduate education, on strengthening the relationship of the campus to surrounding communities and New York City as a whole, and on increasing the university’s international orientation.  At the same time, he completed both a financial restructuring of the university and a $2.84 billion fundraising campaign that achieved eight successive records in dollars raised.

"Prior to his time at Columbia, Dr. Rupp served as president of Rice University, where in the course of his eight years applications for admission almost tripled, federal research support more than doubled, and the value of the Rice endowment increased by more than $500 million to $1.25 billion.

"Before going to Rice, Dr. Rupp was the John Lord O’Brian Professor of Divinity and dean of the Harvard Divinity School. Under his leadership, the curriculum of the school was revised to address more directly the pluralistic character of contemporary religious life.  Further developments included new programs in women’s studies and religion, Jewish-Christian relations, and religion and medicine.

"Born in New Jersey of immigrant parents, Dr. Rupp has studied and conducted research for extended periods in both Europe and Asia. He was awarded an A.B. from Princeton University in 1964, a B.D. from Yale Divinity School in 1967, and a Ph.D. from Harvard in 1972.  He is the author of numerous articles and five books, including Globalization Challenged:  Commitment, Conflict, and Community (2006).

"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 the grandparents of two girls and three boys.“

He has worked on democratic reform through the Committee for Economic Development.


 * Director, InterAction
 * Executive Committee, Partnership to Cut Hunger and Poverty in Africa
 * Trustee, Institute of International Education
 * Member of the Human Rights Watch Academic Freedom Committee of the Free Expression Project
 * Advisory Board, Common Good
 * Board of Overseers, International Rescue Committee
 * Forum on Religion and Ecology: Advisory Board of Area Specialists for the Forum