Rip Rapson
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Richard "Rip" Rapson (born March 16, 1952) is an American attorney and philanthropist serving as the
CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...
of
the Kresge Foundation The Kresge Foundation is a philanthropic private foundation headquartered in Troy, Michigan, United States. The foundation works to expand opportunities in America's cities through grantmaking and investing in arts and culture, education, enviro ...
. He began his career as a congressional aide to
Donald M. Fraser Donald MacKay Fraser (February 20, 1924 – June 2, 2019) was an American politician from Minnesota who served as U.S. Representative from Minnesota's 5th congressional district from 1963 to 1979 and as mayor of Minneapolis from 1980 to 1994. Ea ...
during Fraser's last two terms in the
United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...
. After attending
Columbia Law School Columbia Law School (CLS) is the Law school in the United States, law school of Columbia University, a Private university, private Ivy League university in New York City. The school was founded in 1858 as the Columbia College Law School. The un ...
, Rapson joined the law firm of
Leonard Leonard or ''Leo'' is a common English language, English masculine given name and a surname. The given name and surname originate from the Old High German ''Leonhard'' containing the prefix ''levon'' ("lion") from the Greek wikt:Λέων#Greek, Λ ...
, Street & Deinard to practice law while also serving on the board of several organizations. In 1989, Fraser, who had become
mayor of Minneapolis The mayor of Minneapolis is the chief executive officer of the City of Minneapolis, Minnesota, responsible for overseeing the city's administration. As the political and ceremonial leader of the city, the mayor also represents Minneapolis on the ...
, appointed Rapson as his
deputy mayor The deputy mayor (also known as vice mayor and assistant mayor) is an elective or appointive office of the second-ranking official that is present in many local governments. Duties and functions Many elected deputy mayors are members of the loca ...
and, in 1993, Rapson unsuccessfully ran for mayor to succeed Fraser. After leaving the
Minneapolis City Hall Minneapolis City Hall and Hennepin County Courthouse (also known as the Municipal Building), designed by Long and Kees in 1888, is the main building used by the city government of Minneapolis, as well as by Hennepin County, in the U.S. state of ...
, Rapson became a fellow at the
University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota Twin Cities (historically known as University of Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint ...
and then was appointed president of the
McKnight Foundation The McKnight Foundation is an American Minnesota-based family foundation. Established in 1953, the McKnight Foundation maintains a $2.5 billion endowment, which it distributes in grants. In 2022, the foundation issued $120 million, supporting Min ...
in Minneapolis. In 2006, he moved to the Detroit area to become CEO of the Kresge Foundation. He has led the foundation in a number of philanthropic endeavors to revitalize and rescue Detroit from bankruptcy.


Early life and education

Richard "Rip" Rapson was born on March 16, 1952, in
Bonn Bonn () is a federal city in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, located on the banks of the Rhine. With a population exceeding 300,000, it lies about south-southeast of Cologne, in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ruhr region. This ...
, Germany, to Mary and
Ralph Rapson Ralph Rapson (September 13, 1914 – March 29, 2008) was Head of the School of Architecture at the University of Minnesota for 30 years. He was an interdisciplinary designer, one of the world's oldest practicing architects at his death at ag ...
. In 1954, the family moved to
Minneapolis Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...
,
Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...
, where Ralph became head of the University of Minnesota School of Architecture and a prolific architect in the city. Mary said that their son was nicknamed Rip because he was "kicking and moving" even in the womb. He has a younger brother, Thomas ("Toby"), who also became an architect at their father's architectural firm. At
Marshall-University High School Marshall-University High School was a public junior high and high school serving grades 6–12 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The school was founded in 1968 through a merger between John Marshall High School (a Minneapolis public school) and Univer ...
, Rip Rapson was a baseball pitcher, played basketball, tennis and learned to play the trumpet. He chose to attend
Pomona College Pomona College ( ) is a private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Claremont, California. It was established in 1887 by a group of Congregationalism in the United States, Congregationalists ...
in
California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
which he believed had a good tennis team. In 1974, he graduated
magna cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sout ...
from Pomona with a bachelor of arts degree in political science.


Career

After college, Rapson was hired by
Arvonne Fraser Arvonne Skelton Fraser (September 1, 1925 – August 7, 2018) was an American women's rights advocate and political campaigner. She held the position of senior fellow at the Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs, University of Minnesota, and fro ...
, who ran her husband
Donald M. Fraser Donald MacKay Fraser (February 20, 1924 – June 2, 2019) was an American politician from Minnesota who served as U.S. Representative from Minnesota's 5th congressional district from 1963 to 1979 and as mayor of Minneapolis from 1980 to 1994. Ea ...
's offices in
Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...
, when he served as a
United States representative The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...
from Minnesota. Rapson was a congressional aide from 1974 to 1978 during Fraser's last two terms in the U.S. congress. He worked as a liaison between Fraser's Washington office and his local district office in Minneapolis as well as contributing to the writing and passage of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness Act of 1978 to protect the
Boundary Waters Canoe Area The Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW or BWCA) comprises of pristine forests, glacial lakes, and streams in the Superior National Forest. Located entirely within the U.S. state of Minnesota at the Boundary Waters, the Wilderness, wi ...
in Minnesota. Rapson then graduated from
Columbia Law School Columbia Law School (CLS) is the Law school in the United States, law school of Columbia University, a Private university, private Ivy League university in New York City. The school was founded in 1858 as the Columbia College Law School. The un ...
with a J.D. and joined the law firm of Leonard, Street & Deinard. He became a partner at the firm and remained there from 1981 to 1988. He also served on the
Library Board A library is a collection of books, and possibly other materials and media, that is accessible for use by its members and members of allied institutions. Libraries provide physical (hard copies) or digital (soft copies) materials, and may be a p ...
, the Board of Estimates and Taxation, and the boards of 13 other organizations in the city during that period. On March 14, 1989, Fraser, who had become
mayor of Minneapolis The mayor of Minneapolis is the chief executive officer of the City of Minneapolis, Minnesota, responsible for overseeing the city's administration. As the political and ceremonial leader of the city, the mayor also represents Minneapolis on the ...
, appointed Rapson as his deputy mayor, effective April 15, 1989, to succeed Jan Hively. As deputy mayor, Rapson was in charge of liaisoning with the
Minneapolis City Council The Minneapolis City Council is the Legislature, legislative branch of the city of Minneapolis in Minnesota, United States. Comprising 13 members, the council holds the authority to create and modify laws, policies, and ordinances that govern the ...
. He was also responsible for the creation of a $400 million Neighborhood Revitalization Program and chaired its implementation committee. Rapson ran in the 1993 Minneapolis mayoral elections against
Richard Jefferson Richard Allen Jefferson Jr. (born June 21, 1980) is an American former professional basketball player who played small forward. He played for eight teams in his 17-season career in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Jefferson playe ...
, a member of the
Minnesota House of Representatives The Minnesota House of Representatives is the lower chamber of the U.S. state of Minnesota's Minnesota Legislature, legislature. It operates in conjunction with the Minnesota Senate, the state's upper chamber, to write and pass legislation, whic ...
, and Sharon Sayles-Belton, president of the city council. Rapson relied on a grassroots campaign, receiving only 4% of his funding from
political action committee In the United States, a political action committee (PAC) is a tax-exempt 527 organization that pools campaign contributions from members and donates those funds to campaigns for or against candidates, ballot initiatives, or legislation. The l ...
s. After his unsuccessful bid for mayor of Minneapolis, Rapson accepted a senior fellowship at the
University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota Twin Cities (historically known as University of Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint ...
. He then served for six years as president of the
McKnight Foundation The McKnight Foundation is an American Minnesota-based family foundation. Established in 1953, the McKnight Foundation maintains a $2.5 billion endowment, which it distributes in grants. In 2022, the foundation issued $120 million, supporting Min ...
in Minneapolis. In 2006, Rapson was appointed CEO of
the Kresge Foundation The Kresge Foundation is a philanthropic private foundation headquartered in Troy, Michigan, United States. The foundation works to expand opportunities in America's cities through grantmaking and investing in arts and culture, education, enviro ...
, a foundation based in
Troy, Michigan Troy is a city in Oakland County, Michigan, Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. A northern suburb of Metro Detroit, Detroit, Troy is located about north of downtown Detroit. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 87,294, ...
, a suburb of
Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...
. He was responsible for a number of large grant programs made by the foundation including a $100-million grant to bring financial stability to the
Detroit Institute of Arts The Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA) is a museum institution located in Midtown Detroit, Michigan. It has list of largest art museums, one of the largest and most significant art collections in the United States. With over 100 galleries, it cove ...
whose art collection was owned by the city when it went bankrupt in 2013 and was being considered for sale to cover the city's debt. Together with
Gerald Rosen Gerald Ellis Rosen (born October 26, 1951) is a former United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan. Professional career Prior to taking the bench, Rosen was a senior partner in the law ...
, a
U.S. district court The United States district courts are the trial courts of the U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each federal judicial district. Each district covers one U.S. state or a portion of a state. There is at least one feder ...
chief judge, and Darren Walker of the
Ford Foundation The Ford Foundation is an American private foundation with the stated goal of advancing human welfare. Created in 1936 by Edsel Ford and his father Henry Ford, it was originally funded by a $25,000 (about $550,000 in 2023) gift from Edsel Ford. ...
which chipped in another $125 million, Rapson helped organize a "grand bargain" as proposed by Judge Rosen, with other contributions from a number of foundations and the state of Michigan, to keep the art collection from being liquidated and help preserve pensions for city retirees, whose retirement funds were also at risk. Under his leadership, the foundation contributed $150 million to the implementation of the Detroit Future City plan to revitalize the city and also spurred the development of the
QLine The QLINE is a streetcar system in Detroit, Michigan, United States. Opened on May 12, 2017, it connects Downtown Detroit with Midtown and New Center, running along Woodward Avenue (M-1) for its entire route. The system was developed by M- ...
streetcar project in downtown Detroit. Rapson is a founding member on the board of directors of M-1 Rail, a non-profit organization which built, owns, and operates the QLine. He also serves on the Detroit board of directors of the
Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago The Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago (informally the Chicago Fed) is one of twelve Federal Reserve Banks that, along with the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, make up the Federal Reserve System, the United States' central bank. The Chicago Fed ...
. As CEO of the Kresge Foundation, as of 2017, Rapson manages the organization's $3.8 billion in assets and 105 full-time employees.


Personal life

Rapson married Gail Johnson in August 1989. They have two children.


Bibliography

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rapson, Rip 1952 births Columbia Law School alumni Deputy mayors of places in the United States Politicians from Minneapolis People from Detroit Pomona College alumni Living people