Gerald L. Bepko was born in Chicago, Illinois, on 21 April 1940 to Geraldine F. and Lewis Bepko. Bepko was a bright student and was entered into a program called "Double Promotion" which enabled him to skip a grade during his grade school career. He graduated in 1957 from Carl Scherz High School, a co-educational institution. Bepko's father passed away in 1958, and his mother remarried in 1961.

After having spent his formative years on the North side of Chicago where he excelled as a student, he decided to enroll at Northern Illinois University where he graduated with a B.S. in 1962. He was the first member of his family to graduate from college. Eligible for the draft and unsure of what he wanted to do, he was convinced by a family friend and member of the Board of Kent College of Law in Chicago to apply for entrance into the school. He did and was accepted into the law program where he earned a J.D. in 1965.

Still eligible for the draft after graduation but protected by a deferment, Bepko felt the need to serve his country in some capacity. He applied to the United States Navy Judge Advocate General Corps (JAG), the United States Army Officer Candidate School, and the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI). The FBI was particularly alluring to him due to the new found popularity of Ian Fleming's James Bond series. He heard first from the F.B.I. and became an agent in 1965.

During his time as an agent Bepko was involved in a very serious accident that almost cost him his life. Just married to Jean Cougnenc in February 1968, Bepko was assigned to a surveillance mission in New York City. In September of that same year the truck he was in was struck by another car, and he was thrown from the vehicle. The truck then tipped over landing on top of Bepko almost crushing him to death. Shortly after this incident, Bepko resigned from the F.B.I in 1969 and turned to teaching, which would become his life-long career.

Almost five years after his graduation from Kent College of Law, Bepko returned to Chicago to teach. He served at the school from 1969-1971. Having decided to go back to school to earn his L.L.M., Bepko applied for and was appointed the Ford Urban Law Fellow at Yale University in 1971. When he resigned his position at Kent College he had been appointed as the Director of the Institute for Criminal Justice. He received his L.L.M degree from Yale in 1972.

Bepko joined the Indiana University faculty at the School of Law-Indianapolis in 1972, becoming a full professor in 1975, associate dean for academic affairs in 1979, and dean of the law school in 1981. He has been a visiting professor at the University of Illinois, Ohio State University and Indiana University Bloomington

At the time of his appointment to Interim President of Indiana University, Bepko was serving as Chancellor of Indiana University-Purdue University at Indianapolis (IUPUI), a position which he had held since 1986. He served as interim president from January-July 2003, when the university officially appointed Adam Herbert as president in August 2003.

Bepko is married to Jean B. Cougnenc of New York, and they have two children, Gerald L. Jr. and Arminda.