Biography

Chopp received her B.A.

Bachelor of Arts

A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...

 from Kansas Wesleyan University

Kansas Wesleyan University

Kansas Wesleyan University is a private four-year Methodist college founded in Salina, Kansas in 1886. It is affiliated with the United Methodist Church...

, a Master of Divinity

Master of Divinity

In the academic study of theology, the Master of Divinity is the first professional degree of the pastoral profession in North America...

 from St. Paul School of Theology and a Ph.D.

Ph.D.

A Ph.D. is a Doctor of Philosophy, an academic degree.Ph.D. may also refer to:* Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*Piled Higher and Deeper, a web comic strip*PhD: Phantasy Degree, a Korean comic series* PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...

 from the University of Chicago

University of Chicago

The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...

. Before Swarthmore, Chopp was the president of Colgate University

Colgate University

Colgate University is a private liberal arts college in Hamilton, New York, USA. The school was founded in 1819 as a Baptist seminary and later became non-denominational. It is named for the Colgate family who greatly contributed to the university's endowment in the 19th century.Colgate has 52...

. Before arriving at Colgate in 2002, Chopp was dean and Titus Street Professor of Theology at Yale Divinity School

Yale Divinity School

Yale Divinity School is a professional school at Yale University, in New Haven, Connecticut, U.S. preparing students for ordained or lay ministry, or for the academy...

. She spent fifteen years at Emory University

Emory University

Emory University is a private research university in metropolitan Atlanta, located in the Druid Hills section of unincorporated DeKalb County, Georgia, United States. The university was founded as Emory College in 1836 in Oxford, Georgia by a small group of Methodists and was named in honor of...

 before her tenure at Yale.

Chopp's research focuses on religion

Religion

Religion is a collection of cultural systems, belief systems, and worldviews that establishes symbols that relate humanity to spirituality and, sometimes, to moral values. Many religions have narratives, symbols, traditions and sacred histories that are intended to give meaning to life or to...

 and American culture, 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.

Sources

• Swarthmore College's 14th President - Biography http://www.swarthmore.edu/newpresident/biography.php
• Rebecca Chopp, President-Designate: First Words http://daily.swarthmore.edu/2009/2/21/chopp-interview/
• President Chopp Joins in Drinking Age Discussion http://media.www.maroon-news.com/media/storage/paper742/news/2008/09/05/News/President.Chopp.Joins.In.Drinking.Age.Discussion-3417206.shtml