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from PRINCETON UNIVERSITY Editors: Photos are available at: http://www.princeton.edu/pr/pictures/a-f/eisgruber,christopher Professor Christopher Eisgruber named Princeton's next provost PRINCETON, N.J. -- Christopher L. Eisgruber, the Laurance S. Rockefeller Professor of Public Affairs in the Woodrow Wilson School and the University Center for Human Values and the director of Princeton's Program in Law and Public Affairs, has been named the University's next provost, effective July 1. A member of Princeton's undergraduate class of 1983 and a Rhodes Scholar, Eisgruber will succeed Amy Gutmann, who was recently named the next president of the University of Pennsylvania. Eisgruber's appointment was recommended by President Shirley M. Tilghman and approved by the Executive Committee of the Board of Trustees at its regularly scheduled Feb. 20 meeting. "I am simply delighted that Chris Eisgruber has agreed to take on the responsibilities of provost at this point in Princeton's history," Tilghman said. "He is a perceptive scholar and gifted teacher who has known this University as a student and a faculty member. He is well known to many of us on campus for his creativity, his intellectual curiosity, his colleagueship, his commitment to high standards and his sound judgment. He has all the qualities to be an exceedingly effective provost, as Amy has been, and I look forward to working with him." Eisgruber said, "This University has had a special place in my heart since the day I arrived on campus as a freshman 25 years ago. I am honored and thrilled by the opportunity to serve as its next provost and to work collaboratively with others to enhance its unique blend of education and research. I am especially enthusiastic about working with President Tilghman, whose leadership and vision are accomplishing wonderful things for Princeton." A physics major at Princeton who graduated magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa, Eisgruber earned an M.Litt. in politics at Oxford University and a J.D., cum laude, at the University of Chicago Law School, where he served as editor-in-chief of The University of Chicago Law Review. After clerking for Judge Patrick E. Higginbotham of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit and then for U.S. Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens, he joined the faculty of the New York University School of Law in 1990. In 2001 Eisgruber joined Princeton's faculty to teach and pursue his scholarly interests in the Woodrow Wilson School, the University Center for Human Values and the Department of Politics, and to direct the Program in Law and Public Affairs. In 2002-03 he also served as the acting director of the Program in Ethics and Public Affairs, which is co-sponsored by the Center for Human Values and the Wilson School. Since returning to Princeton he has taught or co-taught three freshman seminars on "The Supreme Court and Constitutional Democracy," an undergraduate course on "Law and Public Policy" and graduate offerings on "Anti-Terrorism, Intelligence and the Law" and "International Human Rights and Democratic Legitimacy." An active Princeton alumnus, Eisgruber has served as a faculty representative on the Alumni Council Executive Committee and last fall co-taught an Alumni Studies program with Professor Robert George on "Equal Justice Under Law? The Supreme Court, the Constitution and American Politics." He also served last year as a faculty representative on the committee that advised Tilghman on the search for a new dean of admission, and the year before on the committee that advised on the search for a new dean of the Wilson School. The author of a book on "Constitutional Self-Government" (Harvard University Press, 2001) and co-author of a book manuscript tentatively titled "Equal Liberty: Religious Freedom and the Constitution," Eisgruber is also the author or co-author of more than three dozen articles in books and academic journals, along with op-eds and other articles in newspapers and other publications. He has testified before the U.S. House and Senate and the New Jersey legislature on issues related to religious freedom. Eisgruber is married to Lori A. Martin, who is first vice president and assistant general counsel of Merrill Lynch Investment Managers. They have one son. As Princeton's second-ranking official, the provost serves as the president's
general deputy and, in the absence of the president, as the University's
senior officer. The provost is responsible for the overall academic program,
works closely with faculty and other administrators on staffing matters,
provides general oversight for many of the University's support and administrative
operations, and is responsible for developing short-term and long-term
recommendations regarding resource allocation, including chairing the
Priorities Committee, the faculty-student-staff committee that makes recommendations
each year to the president regarding the following year's operating budget.
Eisgruber will be the University's 11th provost since the position was
established in 1966. |