Gerhard Casper

Bio

Gerhard Casper was Stanford University’s ninth president. He is the Peter and Helen Bing Professor in Undergraduate Education at Stanford; a professor of law; a professor of political science, by courtesy; and a senior fellow at FSI. He has written and taught primarily in the fields of constitutional law, constitutional history, comparative law, and jurisprudence. From 1977 to 1991, he was an editor of The Supreme Court Review.

Casper was the president of Stanford University from 1992 to 2000 and served as director of FSI from September 2012 through June 2013. Before coming to Stanford, he was on the faculty of the University of Chicago Law School (starting in 1966), served as dean of the law school from 1979 to 1987, and served as provost of the University of Chicago from 1989 to 1992. From 1964 to 1966, he was an assistant professor of political science at the University of California, Berkeley.

His books include a monograph on legal realism (Berlin, 1967), an empirical study of the workload of the U.S. Supreme Court (Chicago, 1976, with Richard A. Posner), as well asSeparating Power (Cambridge, Mass., 1997) about practices concerning the separation of powers at the end of the 18th century in the United States. From his experiences as the president of Stanford, he wrote Cares of the University (1997). He is also the author of numerous scholarly articles and occasional pieces.

He has been elected to membership in the American Law Institute (1977), the International Academy of Comparative Law, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (1980), the Order pour le mérite for the Sciences and Arts (1993), and the American Philosophical Society (1996). He currently serves as a successor trustee of Yale University, a member of the Board of Trustees of the Central European University in Budapest, and a member of the Trilateral Commission. He is also a member of various other boards, including the Council of the American Law Institute and the Board of the American Academy in Berlin.

Born in Germany in 1937, he studied law at the universities of Freiburg and Hamburg; in 1961, he earned his first law degree. He attended Yale Law School, obtaining his Master of Laws degree in 1962, and then returned to Freiburg, where he received his doctorate in 1964. He immigrated to the United States in 1964. He has been awarded honorary doctorates, most recently in law from Yale and in philosophy from Uppsala.

Academic Appointments

• Professor Emeritus, Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies

Honors & Awards

• Election, American Law Institute (1977)
• Election, American Academy of Arts and Sciences (1980)
• Honorary Doctorate in Law, John Marshall Law School (1982)
• Research Prize, Alexander von Humboldt Foundation (1984)
• Honorary Doctorate in Law, Illinois Institute of Technology (1987)
• Election, Orden Pour le mérite für Wissenschaften und Künste (1993)
• Election, American Philosophical Society (1996)
• Kongelige Norske Fortjenstorden, Royal Norweigian Order of Merit (1996)
• The Koret Prize, Koret Foundation (1996)
• Honorary Doctorate in Law, Yale University (2000)
• Honorary Doctorate in Philosophy, Uppsala University (2000)
• Honorary Doctorate in Law, Bard College (2007)
• Great Cross of the Order of Merit with Star (Großes Bundesverdienstkreuz mit Stern), Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (2009)

Boards, Advisory Committees, Professional Organizations

• Member, Board of Governors, Chicago Council of Lawyers (1973 - 1975)
• Co-Editor, The Supreme Court Review (1977 - 1990)
• Member, Board of Directors, American Bar Foundation (1979 - 1987)
• Member, Council, American Law Institute (1980 - Present)
• Member, Permanent Committee, Oliver Wendell Holmes Devise (1985 - 1993)
• Member, Council on Foreign Relations (1985 - Present)
• Member, ex officio, Board of Governors, Argonne National Laboratory (1989 - 1992)
• Member, Board of Directors, Chicago Council on Foreign Relations (1990 - 1992)
• Member, Board of Directors, The University of Chicago Hospitals (1990 - 1992)
• Member, California Business-Higher Education Forum (1992 - 1997)
• Member, Board of Directors, Stanford University Hospita ls and Clinics (1992 - 2000)
• Member, Executive Committee, Association of American Universities (1995 - 1997)
• Member, International Commission to Evaluate the Max Planck Society and the German National Science Foundation (1998 - 1999)
• Member, The Trilateral Commission (1998 - 2005)
• Member, Board of Trustees, The American Academy in Berlin (2000 - Present)
• Successor Trustee, Yale Corporation (2000 - 2008)
• Member, Board of Trustees, Central European University, Budapest (2000 - Present)
• Member, Advisory Committee of the Secretary of Defense on Technology and Privacy (TAPAC) (2003 - 2004)
• Member, Commission of Experts for the Evaluation of the Bavarian University System (2004 - 2005)
• Member, External Review Panel, Singapore Quality Assurance Framework for Universities (QAFU) (2004 - 2006)
• Member, International Advisory Committee, Istituto Italiano di Scienze Umane, Florence (2006 - 2008)
• Member, Committe on Policy Consequences and Legal/Ethical Implications of Offensive Information Warfare, National Academy of Sciences (2006 - 2009)
• Trustee, Committee for Economic Development (2007 - Present)
• Member, Honorary Board of Trustees, Global Heritage Fund (2008 - Present)
• Member, Board of Directors, Terra Foundation for American Art (2008 - Present)
• Member, International Advisory Council, Israel Democracy Institute (2008 - Present)
• Member, International Advisory Council, Global Center for Development and Democracy (2009 - Present)

Professional Education

• Dr. iur. utr., University of Freiburg i. Br. (1964)
• LL.M., Yale Law School (1962)
• Law Studies, Universities of Freiburg i. Br. and Hamburg Legal State Examination (1961)