George Rupp became the eighteenth President of Columbia University on July 1, 1993.

At Columbia, Dr. Rupp completed a financial restructuring, with the result that each of the annual budgets he has submitted has been in balance. Under his leadership the University has also achieved record fundraising each year. Along with reestablishing this solid financial base, Dr. Rupp has 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 international orientation of the University.

Dr. Rupp is a native of New Jersey.  He has studied and conducted research for extended periods in both Europe and Asia.  He was awarded the A.B. from Princeton, the B.D. from Yale, the Ph.D. from Harvard, and the honorary Doctor of Letters from Columbia.

Dr. Rupp came to Columbia from the presidency of Rice University. At Rice, he launched a reform of the undergraduate curriculum and developed six multi-disciplinary research institutes.  During the eight years of his presidency 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 School's curriculum 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.

Dr. Rupp is the author of four books, including Beyond Existentialism and Zen: Religion in a Pluralistic World and Commitment and Community.

The parents of two adult daughters, Dr. Rupp and his wife, Nancy, live in the President's House on the Columbia campus.