David Bicknell Truman (June 1, 1913 – August 28, 2003) was an American academic who served as the 14th president of

Mount Holyoke College Mount Holyoke College is a Private college, private Women's colleges in the United States, women's Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in South Hadley, Massachusetts, United States. It is the oldest member of the h ...

from 1969–1978. He is also known for his role as a

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

administrator during the

Columbia University protests of 1968 In 1968, a series of protests at Columbia University in New York City were one among the various student demonstrations that Protests of 1968, occurred around the globe in that year. The Columbia protests erupted over the spring of that year aft ...

. Truman was an elected member of both the

American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS) is an American scholarly organization and learned society founded in 1743 in Philadelphia that promotes knowledge in the humanities and natural sciences through research, professional meetings, publicat ...

and 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 ...

Background and family

Truman was born and raised in Evanston, Illinois. He received his B.A. from

Amherst College Amherst College ( ) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Amherst, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1821 as an attempt to relocate Williams College by its then-president Zepha ...

and his doctorate from the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...

. He is the father of economist Edwin M. Truman.

Political science

Truman was a prominent political scientist and is known for his contributions to the theory of political pluralism.

Administrative roles

He taught at a number of institutions before joining

in 1950. There, in addition to teaching political science, he undertook a number of administrative roles, serving successively as head of the department of public law and government (1959–61), Dean of Columbia College (1962–67), and Vice-President and Provost (1967–69). In 1969, Truman "stepped down after a tumultuous year of student unrest. During the student-lead ictakeover of the University, Truman was continually mentioned as a University administrator who retained the student body's respect." Truman became president of

in 1969 and stayed until 1978. Truman oversaw the decision to remain a woman's college in 1971. His obituary from Mount Holyoke noted, "both at Columbia and Mount Holyoke, Truman was involved in dealing with the significant student unrest of the late 1960s and 1970s. At both campuses he faced student protests and takeovers regarding such difficult issues as race and the Vietnam War. Despite these challenges, which were common on college campuses during the Vietnam Era, Truman left a lasting legacy as a warm and caring leader."

Scholarship

* ''Administrative Decentralization'' (1940) * ''The Governmental Process: Political Interests and Public Opinion''. New York: Knopf, 1951 * ''The Congressional Party'' (1959)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Truman, David Political science educators Mount Holyoke College faculty Presidents and Principals of Mount Holyoke College Amherst College alumni Columbia University faculty People from Evanston, Illinois University of Chicago faculty 1913 births 2003 deaths Social Science Research Council 20th-century American academics 20th-century American political scientists Members of the American Philosophical Society