Biography
A lifelong leader in academia and an esteemed scholar of constitutional law, Gerhard Casper served as Stanford University’s president from 1992-2000. During that time, his commitment to excellence in both undergraduate and graduate education resulted in a number of major initiatives. A decorated academic, Professor Casper holds honorary doctorates from Yale and Uppsala Universities. He has been elected to membership in the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the American Law Institute, the International Academy of Comparative Law, the Order Pour le mérite for the Sciences and Arts, and the American Philosophical Society. He currently serves as a successor trustee of Yale University, and a member of the board of trustees of the Central European University in Budapest and the American Academy in Berlin.
Before joining the Stanford Law School faculty in 1992, Professor Casper was a long-time faculty member at the University of Chicago, where he served as the provost of the university, the dean of the law school, and a professor of law. He began his career as a professor of political science at the University of California at Berkeley.
Key Works
- Gerhard Casper, Separating Power: Essays on the Founding Period, Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1997, 202 pages.
- Gerhard Casper, Constitutional Constraints on the Conduct of Foreign and Defense Policy: A Nonjudicial Model, 43 University of Chicago Law Review 463-98 (1976).
- Gerhard Casper. With Posner, Richard A. The Workload of the Supreme Court, Chicago: American Bar Foundation, 1976.
Publications & Cases
Recent Publications View All
- Gerhard Casper. Die Befreiung der Universitäten (The Liberation of Universities), Die Zeit, February 25, 2005, no. 5.
- Gerhard Casper, Die Befreiung der Universitaten, Die Zeit (February 25, 2005).
- Gerhard Casper. Rule of Law? Whose Law?, in Festschrift fur Andreas Heldrick Zum 70. Geburtstag, Stephan Lorenz, et al., eds., Munchen: Verlag C.H. Beck, 2005.
- Gerhard Casper, et. al., A Tribute to Adolf Sprudzs: International Association of Law Libraries President from 1986 to 1992, 95 Law Library Journal 323-346 (Summer 2003).
- Gerhard Casper, Tribute to Professor Gerald Gunther: Gerry, 55 Stanford Law Review 647-650 (December 2002).
- Gerhard Casper, Constitutionalism, Encyclopedia of the American Constitution, Second Edition. Edited by Leonard W. Levy and Kenneth L. Karst. New York: Macmillan Reference, 2000. p.633-639.
- Gerhard Casper and Henry Muller, I Have Had At Least Nine Jobs, Fortune Magazine 275-285, October 16, 2000.
- Gerhard Casper, In memoriam: Edward H. Levi (1912-2000)., 67 University of Chicago Law Review 971 (Fall 2000)
- Gerhard Casper, An Essay in Separation of Powers: Some Early Versions and Practices, in A Constitutional Law Anthology, 2nd edition, Michael J. Glennon, Donald E. Lively, Phoebe A. Haddon, Dorothy E. Roberts, and Russell L. Weaver, eds., Cincinatti: Anderson Publishing, 1997.
- Gerhard Casper and Jonathan D. Varat, Cares of the University: Five-Year Report to the Board of Trustees and the Academic Council of Stanford University, Stanford: Stanford University Office of the President, 1997.
Affiliations & Honors
Honors and Awards
- Honorary LLD, John Marshall Law School, 1982; IIT Chicago-Kent, 1987; Honorary PhD Yale Law School, 2000
- Honorary PhD, Uppsala University, 2000
- Elected Member, American Law Institute, 1977 (elected to ALI Council, 1980)
- Elected Member, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, 1980
- Elected Member, International Academy of Comparative Law, 1990
- Elected Member, Order Pour le mérite for the Sciences and Arts, 1993
- Elected Member, American Philosophical Society, 1996

- gcasper@stanford.edu
- 650 723.2482
- Curriculum Vitae
Education
- Referendar, Hamburg University, 1961
- LLM, Yale Law School, 1962
- Dr. iur. utr., University of Freiburg, 1964
Expertise
- Comparative Study of Democracy and Rule of Law
- Constitutional History
- Constitutional Law