Christoffer H. Grundmann, born 1950, was inducted into the John R. Eckrich University Chair in Religion and the Healing Arts at Valparaiso University in 2001.

After completing theological studies in Germany (M.Th.) and ministerial training at Caracas, Venezuela, he received Lutheran ordination and thereafter taught for four years at the Tamilnadu Theological Seminary (TTS) in Madurai, India. Returning to Germany he became hospital chaplain and the theological consultant to the German Institute for Medical Missions at Tuebingen. In 1991 he earned his first doctorate (Dr. theol.) from the University at Hamburg, Germany, and joined the staff of the 'Institute for Missions, Ecumenics, and Religions'. After completing his second doctorate (Dr. theol. habil.) he was awarded the venia legendi and became Privatdozent. In 2001 the title 'Professor' was conferred to him by the same university. Teaching also courses on missiology and on comparative religions at other universities in Germany -Tuebingen, Oldenburg, Kiel, Leipzig - and working for a short period of time at the church related 'Center for Health-care Ethics' at Hannover, Germany, he joined Valparaiso University in the academic year 2001/2002.

Being an active member of several national and international scholarly associations his interdisciplinary as well as intercultural and interreligious expertise is sought after by many research groups, some of which are sponsored by the German Research Foundation (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, DFG), the World Council of Churches (WCC), and the Lutheran World Federation (LWF), while others represent independent international research co-operations across the globe.

Christoffer is married to Ingrid. The two of them have three now grown-up daughters: Katharina-Chitra, Gabriele-Sakthi, and Friederike-Cornelia.