For more than two decades David has advanced the role and reputation of colleges and universities, most recently with the College of Liberal Arts at The University of Texas at Austin, where he served as director of public affairs for nearly ten years. During that time he greatly expanded the role of that office in rigorously promoting the value of the liberal arts, working with local, national and international media in bolstering the reputation of the college and its more than 500 faculty and 10,000 students. Two of UT’s top-ranked programs are in the College of Liberal Arts, and during the past ten years a number of the college’s 22 academic departments made significant advances in national rankings. David also promoted university-wide efforts to improve graduation and retention rates that garnered national attention and positioned UT as a model for student success initiatives. He also spearheaded a major overhaul of UT’s largest web presence and implemented a strategic communication plan that integrated college-wide messaging and substantially strengthened alumni and donor relations through a variety of new communication and marketing channels.

As a first-generation college graduate who received a bachelor’s degree in political science and a master’s in English from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, David believes the liberal arts are foundational in a world of rapid cultural, technological and environmental change, and looks forward to promoting Southwestern as a national model for liberal arts education in the 21st century.