John C Knapp

Biography

Earlier, Dr. Knapp served as founding director of Samford University’s Frances Marlin Mann Center for Ethics and Leadership.. While there, he held the Mann Family Professorship in Ethics and Leadership. Prior to his tenure at Samford, Dr. Knapp taught at Georgia State University as a Professor and served as a Director of the Center for Ethics and Corporate Responsibility at the J. Mack Robinson College of Business.

In 1981, Knapp earned a Bachelor of Science degree in urban life with a concentration in communication from Georgia State University. Following his bachelor’s degree, he completed his Master of Arts degree in theological studies at Columbia Theological Seminary in 1995. In 1999, Dr. Knapp earned a Doctor of Philosophy degree in theology and religious studies at the University of Wales, United Kingdom. At the time, he was an Honorary Visiting Lecturer at the university. He was awarded the honorary Doctor of Letters (D.Litt.) degree by Hope College in 2013.

President Knapp has published five books titled For the Common Good: The Ethics of Leadership in the 21st Century (Praeger, 2006); Leaders on Ethics: Real-World Perspectives on Today's Business Challenges (Praeger, 2007); The Business of Higher Education (ABC-CLIO, 2009), three volumes focusing on how universities cope with pressure to strengthen accountability and efficiency; and How the Church Fails Businesspeople (and What Can Be Done About It) (William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2011), which provides insight regarding the relationship between faith and work. His latest book is Ghostwriting and The Ethics of Authenticity (Palgrave Macmillan, 2016), an exploration of the ethics, history and practice of ghostwriting in a wide range of practical contexts.

Knapp previously taught courses in the doctoral program at Columbia Theological Seminary and was a Senior Scholar and Professor of Ethical Leadership at Kennesaw State University. He serves on the boards of organizations including American Association of Presidents of Independent Colleges and Universities, Great Lakes Colleges Association, Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association, Van Andel Institute, Robert J. Rutland Institute for Ethics at Clemson University, is a fellow of Caux Round Table, and is a past board member for Georgia Humanities Council; Alabama Humanities Foundation; Atlanta Convention and Visitors Bureau; Public Relations Society of America, Georgia Chapter; and Society for Human Resource Management, Atlanta.

President Knapp is active on Twitter @PresKnapp and connects with his students regularly through the social media site. In addition, he was featured in an article published by Eduventures entitled Commit, Connect, Engage: How College and University Presidents are using Twitter.

Dr. Knapp was appointed president of Hope College on July 1, 2013. In addition to his presidential appointment, Knapp was also a Professor of Religion and Professor of Management. On April 21, 2017 President Knapp was announced as the 13th President of Washington & Jefferson College in Washington, Pennsylvania, where he also holds an appointment as Professor in he Department of Philosophy. He officially began his duties on August 1, 2017.