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From the streets of Selma where he marched alongside Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. to the helm of Ohio Wesleyan University, and ultimately to the presidency of the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities, Dr. David Warren ’70 M.Div., ’70 M.U.S. has contributed his verse to the powerful play that goes on. David grew up in Richland, Washington and as an undergraduate majoring in English at Washington State University, he was inspired by Henry David Thoreau’s writings on civil disobedience and became a student leader in the Civil Rights Movement.
David Warren as Student Body President of Washington State University
“I was a senior, I was the student body president, and on… [the 7th of] March, Bloody Sunday occurred,” David recalled. On Bloody Sunday, in 1965, around 600 peaceful protesters attempted to walk from Selma to Montgomery to oppose voter suppression in and around Alabama. Police, state troopers, and citizens violently attacked these peaceful protestors. “A call went out the next day nationwide for people that cared about the Civil Rights Movement…I agreed to [come and protest],” David recalled. “I had to be on the floor [of our car] …because if [the police] spotted you in the car, the prospects were pretty good they were going to pull it over and assault you,” he added. “I marched for four days with Martin Luther King. We stopped each night at a friendly farmer’s field. Twice we had to pick up and leave because of threats of bombs.”
David Warren on the March from Selma to Montgomery. March 1965
There, David also marched with The Reverend William Sloane Coffin, Yale chaplain and civil rights activist who would later be a key figure in David’s journey to Yale. “All along the highway [where we marched], were persons carrying shotguns, many in hoods” David recalled. “The only thing I believe that kept us safe was that the National Guard had been mobilized. They lined the highway and stood between the marchers and the angry locals.”
David Warren at a Meeting at Gandhi’s Ashram
Along with Thoreau, Mahatma Gandhi and his philosophy fueled David’s commitment to peaceful protests. After his time as an undergraduate student, David received a Fulbright Scholarship to study Mahatma Gandhi and his ideology in India. “[Gandhi] was the basis… of Martin Luther King’s work along with Henry David Thoreau,” David explained. David went on to travel in India for a year, meeting with Gandhi’s most senior advisors. For a time, he lived in Gandhi’s ashram, a Hindu monastic community. “I came to understand the concept of ‘satyagraha,’ which is a peace force, nonviolent resistance, and the ways in which that idea had come to be adopted so effectively by Martin Luther King.”
David was then awarded a scholarship by the Rockefeller Foundation to attend a divinity school of his choosing and he realized that, if he chose Yale, he could study under The Reverend William Sloane Coffin. Through a dual-degree program, he earned a Master of Divinity and a Master of Urban Studies from Yale. “Divinity School was a fascinating place to study because [there were] people of all different faiths there,” David explained. “I found a particular stream of theology which cared deeply for the bypassed and forgotten and downtrodden: a faith deeply rooted in social justice.”
“In the spring of 1968, I was doing an internship from the Divinity School at Dwight Hall… My particular project, and this is the one that ties me into much of the rest of my life, was creating the Free School of New Haven.” David explained that his career with higher education was born at Dwight Hall.“ The Free School linked up students, faculty, and townspeople with questions that they wanted to explore.”
David Warren at the Coalition for a New University/Dwight Hall, 1969
David further pioneered the Summer Project (subsequently known as the Summer Fellows program) at Dwight Hall, making modest funds available for students seeking to work in the nonprofit sector on social issues. “Legal services were provided with both undergraduates and students from the law school going into the Fair Haven neighborhood to assist with the kinds of problems that the neediest had: welfare, housing, healthcare, and employment.” Now celebrating its 58th year, the Summer Fellows program continues to support students as they form lasting relationships with communities in New Haven, in their hometowns, and across the United States.
David was later elected to the New Haven Board of Alders, where he worked to bridge the gap between Yale and the city — this time from a government perspective.
David’s Dwight Hall initiative, the Free School of New Haven, inspired him to continue his work in education. He went on to earn his Ph.D. at the University of Michigan, completing the degree in just 18 months using credits from Yale. His dissertation, “Town Gown Conflict” examined the relationship between Yale and New Haven. “I was asked by the president’s office to share my findings with them… and they asked me if I would be interested in attempting to implement some of the proposals I made.” David then worked with Dwight Hall as General Secretary (Executive Director) and served as Assistant Secretary of Yale.
After his time at Yale, he worked as Dean of College at Antioch University, where he was later promoted to Senior Vice President and Provost. “Antioch taught me an enormous amount about the complexities of finance, the role of shared governance between faculty, staff, and administration, and alternative forms of learning” David reflected.
“I came back to New Haven in 1982 because I was asked to become, in effect, the deputy mayor, the Chief Administrative Officer. I accepted it because this was an opportunity to integrate proposals from my dissertation,” he stated. During his tenure, David worked to build affordable housing and parks and to connect Yale and New Haven. “While I was doing that work, I was nominated for the presidency at Ohio Wesleyan,” he recalled.
At Ohio Wesleyan, David adopted a hands-on approach to administration. “I want[ed] to live in… [dorms and] ask the question, ‘How well is this institution working for you?’… I spent 100 days living with students, in 13 different residences.” David utilized these insights to involve the faculty in creating the National Colloquium, where students could explore issues, they cared about. “The first year’s theme was called After Hiroshima: Life and Death in the Nuclear Age.” In the midst of the Cold War, the threat of nuclear war was burning in the country’s mind, and David gave students room to discuss their concerns and propose avenues forward. “Yale historian John Hershey, author of the book Hiroshima, was the keynote speaker. We also invited the captain who dropped the bomb on Hiroshima, survivors [from Hiroshima], [and] individuals who helped design the bomb to speak.” Ohio Wesleyan continues to run the National Colloquium with themes selected by students and faculty together. Other universities have used it as a model for similar forums.
Subsequently, David worked in Washington, DC as president of the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities. He worked to protect Pell Grants and key federal funding for student aid with the support of President Bill Clinton. “We followed [the Appropriations Committee] in each of the seven states where they went to have field hearings. We brought students, townspeople, and parents to the hearings to demonstrate what the consequences would be if they were to eliminate the subsidy on student loans and we saved student aid!”
President Clinton receives Student Aid Alliance shirt from David Warren at NAICU Annual Meeting, 1995
David has built an extraordinary career. He is now Co-Chair of Champions of Higher Education. Champions of Higher Education is a group of over 300 former college presidents who speak out, lobby, and write editorials against the assault on higher education. Reflecting, he said, “[Dwight Hall] is the single most effective setting for community service and for social change that reaches out into New Haven and beyond.”
He also shared advice with Yale students who are often pulled in many different directions. “Getting a degree is not just about making money; it’s about making a life worth living.” Finally, he encouraged students to consider Thoreau’s essay “Where I Lived, and What I Lived For.”
David’s experience at Dwight Hall demonstrates the Grow pillar of the organization’s Engage, Grow, and Advance model, developing students’ intellectual, moral, civic, and creative capacities through fellowships, mentorship, and hands-on service.
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