Rebecca S. Chopp (born 1952) is an academic administrator and professor. She was the 18th chancellor of the

University of Denver The University of Denver (DU) is a private research university in Denver, Colorado. Founded in 1864, it is the oldest independent private university in the Rocky Mountain Region of the United States. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Univ ...

, and the first female chancellor in the institution's history. Prior to that, Chopp was a president of Swarthmore College and Colgate University.

Biography

Chopp received her

B.A. Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...

from

Kansas Wesleyan University Kansas Wesleyan University is a private Christian university in Salina, Kansas. Founded in 1886, it is affiliated with the United Methodist Church. About 800 students attend KWU, with approximately 700 of them studying on the 28-acre campus. ...

, a Master of Divinity (M.Div.) from St. Paul School of Theology and a

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...

from 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 ...

. Before Swarthmore, Chopp was the president of Colgate University. Before arriving at Colgate in 2002, Chopp was Dean and Titus Street Professor of Theology at

Yale Divinity School Yale Divinity School (YDS) is one of the twelve graduate and professional schools of Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. Congregationalist theological education was the motivation at the founding of Yale, and the professional school has ...

. She spent fifteen years at

Emory University Emory University is a private research university in Atlanta, Georgia. Founded in 1836 as "Emory College" by the Methodist Episcopal Church and named in honor of Methodist bishop John Emory, Emory is the second-oldest private institution of ...

before her tenure at Yale. Chopp's research focuses on

religion Religion is usually defined as a social- cultural system of designated behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that generally relates humanity to supernatural, ...

and

American culture The culture of the United States of America is primarily of Western, and European origin, yet its influences includes the cultures of Asian American, African American, Latin American, and Native American peoples and their cultures. The U ...

, but she has also written about the culture of higher education and the liberal arts in a democratic society. Chopp was also one of more than 100 college presidents in the United States to call for the drinking age to be lowered. In June 2014, she announced her decision to accept the position of chancellor of the

, citing her desire to live in Denver as one of the reasons for leaving Swarthmore. In the summer of 2019, Chancellor Chopp resigned because of health problems.

References

External links

Swarthmore College's 14th President – Biography

Rebecca Chopp, President-Designate: First Words
Living people Kansas Wesleyan University alumni Saint Paul School of Theology alumni University of Chicago alumni Presidents of the American Academy of Religion Chancellors of the University of Denver Presidents of Colgate University Presidents of Swarthmore College Yale Divinity School faculty Emory University faculty Women heads of universities and colleges 1952 births {{US-academic-administrator-1950s-stub