Christopher Ludwig Eisgruber (born September 24, 1961)
is an American academic and legal scholar who is serving as the 20th
President
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
* President (education), a leader of a college or university
* President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...
of
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the ...
, where he is also the Laurance S. Rockefeller Professor of Public Affairs in the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs and the University Center for Human Values.
He is also an expert on
constitutional law
Constitutional law is a body of law which defines the role, powers, and structure of different entities within a state, namely, the executive, the parliament or legislature, and the judiciary; as well as the basic rights of citizens and, in fe ...
, with an emphasis on
law & religion and
federal judicial appointments.
Education
Eisgruber graduated ''
magna cum laude'' from Princeton University in 1983, receiving an
AB in
physics
Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which r ...
and was inducted into
Phi Beta Kappa
The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States, and the most prestigious, due in part to its long history and academic selectivity. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal ...
.
He completed his senior thesis, titled "The global implications of local violations of the energy conditions", under the supervision of
Malcolm Perry; his thesis addressed topics in the theory of
general relativity
General relativity, also known as the general theory of relativity and Einstein's theory of gravity, is the geometric theory of gravitation published by Albert Einstein in 1915 and is the current description of gravitation in modern physics ...
.
He also studied political theory with Jeffrey K. Tulis and constitutional interpretation with
Walter F. Murphy, (the latter would inspire Eisgruber to pursue a career in constitutional law). During his junior year at Princeton, he was a member of the
Elm Club. After graduating from Princeton, Eisgruber won a
Rhodes Scholarship to attend
University College, Oxford
University College (in full The College of the Great Hall of the University of Oxford, colloquially referred to as "Univ") is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. It has a claim to being the oldest college of the unive ...
where he earned an
MLitt
The Master of Letters degree (MLitt or LittM; Latin ' or ') is a postgraduate degree.
Ireland
Trinity College Dublin and Maynooth University offer MLitt degrees. Trinity has offered them the longest, owing largely to its tradition as Ireland ...
in politics in 1987. Upon his return from Oxford, Eisgruber attended the
University of Chicago Law School
The University of Chicago Law School is the law school of the University of Chicago, a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. It is consistently ranked among the best and most prestigious law schools in the world, and has many dis ...
where he graduated ''
cum laude'' with a
JD in 1988.
While in law school, he served as editor-in-chief of the ''
University of Chicago Law Review
The ''University of Chicago Law Review'' (Maroonbook abbreviation: ''U Chi L Rev'') is the flagship law journal published by the University of Chicago Law School. It is among the top five most cited law reviews in the world. Up until 2020, it utili ...
''.
Career
Following his graduation from law school, Eisgruber served as
law clerk to Judge
Patrick Higginbotham of the
United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit (in case citations, 5th Cir.) is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following federal judicial districts:
* Eastern District of Louisiana
* M ...
and then Justice
John Paul Stevens of the
Supreme Court of the United States.
After clerking, Eisgruber taught at
New York University Law School
New York University School of Law (NYU Law) is the law school of New York University, a private research university in New York City. Established in 1835, it is the oldest law school in New York City and the oldest surviving law school in New ...
for eleven years, from 1990 to 2001, before coming to Princeton.
From 2001 to 2004, Eisgruber was the director of Princeton's Program in Law and Public Affairs.
He served as the provost of Princeton from 2004 to 2013.
Eisgruber was elected as Princeton's 20th president on April 21, 2013, and assumed the office on July 1, 2013. A formal installation ceremony was held on September 22, 2013.
Eisgruber has served on several boards, including the academic advisory board of
Coursera
Coursera Inc. () is a U.S.-based massive open online course provider founded in 2012 by Stanford University computer science professors Andrew Ng and Daphne Koller. Coursera works with universities and other organizations to offer online courses ...
, a provider of massive open online courses; the Board of Trustees of the
Educational Testing Service
Educational Testing Service (ETS), founded in 1947, is the world's largest private nonprofit educational testing and assessment organization. It is headquartered in Lawrence Township, Mercer County, New Jersey, Lawrence Township, New Jersey, b ...
; the Board of Trustees of
Princeton University Press
Princeton University Press is an independent publisher with close connections to Princeton University. Its mission is to disseminate scholarship within academia and society at large.
The press was founded by Whitney Darrow, with the financia ...
;
the Board of Trustees of ITHAKA and Artstor; and the Board of Directors of Liulishuo. He is also a steering committee member of the American Talent Initiative and a member of the Global University Leaders Forum of the World Economic Forum.
Eisgruber was elected as a member of the
American Academy of Arts and Sciences
The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (abbreviation: AAA&S) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, a ...
in 2014.
Presidency
Eisgruber was formally installed as Princeton's 20th president on September 22, 2013. Eisgruber is the first Princeton president who received his undergraduate degree from the university since
Robert Goheen, who served from 1957 to 1972. He is also the first president since
Francis Landey Patton (president from 1888 to 1902) who does not hold a PhD.
Personal life
Eisgruber is a native of
Lafayette, Indiana
Lafayette ( , ) is a city in and the county seat of Tippecanoe County, Indiana, United States, located northwest of Indianapolis and southeast of Chicago. West Lafayette, on the other side of the Wabash River, is home to Purdue University, whi ...
.
Both his parents were
German immigrants who met as graduate students at
Purdue University
Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donated land and mone ...
.
Eisgruber moved to Oregon with his family in 1973. His father was the dean of the School of Agricultural Sciences at
Oregon State University
Oregon State University (OSU) is a public land-grant, research university in Corvallis, Oregon. OSU offers more than 200 undergraduate-degree programs along with a variety of graduate and doctoral degrees. It has the 10th largest engineering c ...
.
Eisgruber captained the 1979 U.S. National High School Chess Champion team in his senior year at
Corvallis High School
His wife, Lori A. Martin, is a partner in the New York office of the law firm
WilmerHale
Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP, also known as Hale & Dorr and WilmerHale, is an international law firm with offices in the United States, Europe and Asia. It is co-headquartered in Washington, D.C. and Boston. It was formed in 2004 thr ...
, and they have a son, Danny, who is a graduate of the
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chic ...
.
Eisgruber was raised
Catholic
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
and married his wife in an
Episcopal church. While helping his son, then in the fourth grade, with a school project, he discovered that his Berlin-born mother, who had arrived in New York as an eight-year-old refugee, was
Jewish
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
. Today, Eisgruber identifies as a
nontheist Jew. His wife is Episcopalian.
In 2009, a Holocaust claims tribunal awarded Eisgruber and his three sisters 162,500 Swiss francs, representing the value of the bank account of their maternal great-grandfather, Salomon Kalisch.
Eisgruber is a lifelong fan of the
Chicago Cubs.
Publications
;Books
*''The Next Justice: Repairing the Supreme Court Appointments Process'' (2007)
*''Religious Freedom and the Constitution'', with
Lawrence G. Sager (2007)
*''Global Justice and the Bulwarks of Localism: Human Rights in Context'', ed. with Andras Sajo (2005)
*''Constitutional Self-Government'' (2001)
;Letters
Letter to U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary
See also
*
References
External links
Office of the President of Princeton University
{{DEFAULTSORT:Eisgruber, Christopher L.
1961 births
Living people
People from Lafayette, Indiana
Presidents of Princeton University
Princeton University alumni
American Rhodes Scholars
Alumni of University College, Oxford
University of Chicago Law School alumni
Jewish American academics
Law clerks of the Supreme Court of the United States
American lawyers
People from Corvallis, Oregon
American former Christians
Corvallis High School (Oregon) alumni
New York University faculty
21st-century American Jews