John David Alexander

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(October 18, 1932 – July 25, 2010) was an American academic who served as president of

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 ...

during a period of time where he led a major expansion of the school, and served as US National Secretary for the Rhodes Trust, overseeing the selection process for recipients of the

Rhodes Scholarship The Rhodes Scholarship is an international postgraduate award for students to study at the University of Oxford in Oxford, United Kingdom. The scholarship is open to people from all backgrounds around the world. Established in 1902, it is ...

from the United States.

Early life and education

Alexander was born on October 18, 1932, in

Springfield, Tennessee Springfield is the county seat of Robertson County, Tennessee, United States. It is located in Middle Tennessee near the northern border of the state. As of the 2020 census, the city's population was 18,782. History US 431 and US 4 ...

. He was raised in

Princeton, Kentucky Princeton is a list of Kentucky cities, home rule-class city in Caldwell County, Kentucky, in the United States. It is the county seat, seat of its county. The population was 6,329 during the 2010 U.S. Census. Princeton is home to several notabl ...

and graduated from Southwestern at Memphis College, now known as Rhodes College, graduating

Phi Beta Kappa The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States. It was founded in 1776 at the College of William & Mary in Virginia. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal arts and sciences, ...

and with honors in

Greek language Greek (, ; , ) is an Indo-European languages, Indo-European language, constituting an independent Hellenic languages, Hellenic branch within the Indo-European language family. It is native to Greece, Cyprus, Italy (in Calabria and Salento), south ...

, and then attended

Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary, also referred to as Louisville Seminary, is a seminary affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (USA) and located in Louisville, Kentucky. It is one of 12 PC(USA) seminaries and it identifies as an e ...

. He was selected as a Rhodes Scholar in 1954 and was awarded a doctorate in theology from

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church (, the temple or house, ''wikt:aedes, ædes'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by Henry V ...

, where he studied Greek,

Hebrew Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...

and church history.Hevesi, Dennis
"David Alexander, Overseer of Rhodes Selection, Is Dead at 77"
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', July 30, 2010. Accessed August 2, 2010.McCrindle, mary
"David Alexander: US national secretary to the Rhodes Trust"
''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'', August 3, 2010. Accessed August 2, 2010.

Career

After returning to the United States, he taught at

San Francisco Theological Seminary The San Francisco Theological Seminary (SFTS) is a seminary in San Anselmo, California with historic ties to the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). SFTS became embedded in a new Graduate School of Theology of the Universi ...

. He became the president of Southwestern at Memphis in 1965, where he desegregated the college's network of fraternities and sororities. At 33, Alexander was one of the youngest college presidents in the United States and was the first alumnus to serve in the position. He was named president of

on January 13, 1969.Pomon
"President David Alexander"
"Pomona College". Accessed January 3, 2011. During his more than two decades at the nationally ranked liberal arts college, he oversaw a major expansion in the school's endowment from $24 million to $296 million and the construction of numerous new buildings on its campus in Claremont, California.Staff

''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

'', July 27, 2010. Accessed August 2, 2010. He emphasized an element of formality in the college's academic life. He served as U.S. National Secretary to the Rhodes Trust from 1981 to 1998. The Rhodes Trust administers Rhodes Scholarships, which are the oldest and arguably the most prestigious international scholarships in the world. David was responsible for overseeing the selection of candidates for the 32 annual spots designated for residents of the United States to study at the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

under which students may study any full-time postgraduate course offered by the university. Women first became eligible to be recognized as Rhodes Scholars in 1976 and during his tenure Alexander oversaw efforts to increase the number of scholarships applied for by and awarded to women. The annual selection process overseen by Alexander involved contacting officials at as many as 800 colleges and universities across the country. In 1992, for the first time, half of the Rhodes Scholarships awarded were granted to women. He was designated as a

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

in 1998 by

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...

for his service to Oxford and was elected as a Fellow of the

American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (The Academy) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and other ...

in 2006.

Later life and death

Alexander died from

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving Cell growth#Disorders, abnormal cell growth with the potential to Invasion (cancer), invade or Metastasis, spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Po ...

at age 77 on July 25, 2010, at his home in

Claremont, California Claremont () is a suburban city in eastern Los Angeles County, California, United States, east of Los Angeles. It lies in the Pomona Valley at the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains. As of the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census it had ...

Personal life

Alexander was married to Catharine Coleman. He had two daughters and a son. His daughter

Julia Julia may refer to: People *Julia (given name), including a list of people with the name *Julia (surname), including a list of people with the name *Julia gens, a patrician family of Ancient Rome *Julia (clairvoyant) (fl. 1689), lady's maid of Qu ...

(1967–2025), an art historian and curator, was director of the

Walters Art Museum The Walters Art Museum is a public art museum located in the Mount Vernon, Baltimore, Mount Vernon neighborhood of Baltimore, Maryland. Founded and opened in 1934, it holds collections from the mid-19th century that were amassed substantially ...

in Maryland from 2013 to 2024.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Alexander, David 1932 births 2010 deaths American Rhodes Scholars Deaths from cancer in California Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences People from Princeton, Kentucky People from Claremont, California People from Springfield, Tennessee Pomona College faculty Rhodes College alumni Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford San Francisco Theological Seminary faculty Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary alumni Presidents of Pomona College