# David Truman

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{{short description|American academic}}
{{Use American English|date=March 2026}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name         = David Truman
| image        =
| order        = 14th
| title        = President of<br />[Mount Holyoke College](/source/Mount_Holyoke_College)
| term_start   = 1969
| term_end     = 1978
| predecessor  = [Meribeth E. Cameron](/source/Meribeth_E._Cameron)
| successor    = [Elizabeth Topham Kennan](/source/Elizabeth_Topham_Kennan)
| birth_date   = {{birth date|1913|6|1}}
| birth_place  = [Evanston, Illinois](/source/Evanston%2C_Illinois)
| death_date   = {{death date and age|2003|8|28|1913|6|1}}
| death_place  = [Sarasota, Florida](/source/Sarasota%2C_Florida)
| alma_mater   = [Amherst College](/source/Amherst_College)<br />[University of Chicago](/source/University_of_Chicago)
| profession   = [Professor](/source/Professor)
| office2      = Dean of [Columbia College](/source/Columbia_College_(New_York))
| term_start2  = 1963
| term_end2    = 1967
| predecessor2 = [John Gorham Palfrey](/source/John_Gorham_Palfrey_(academic))
| successor2   = [Henry S. Coleman](/source/Henry_S._Coleman) (interim) 
}}
'''David Bicknell Truman''' (June 1, 1913 – August 28, 2003)<ref>{{cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mgoJAQAAIAAJ&q=%22Truman,%20David%20Bicknell%22%201913|title=Reports of the Secretary & of the Treasurer|first=John Simon Guggenheim Memorial|last=Foundation|date=1 January 1955|publisher=John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation.|via=Google Books}}</ref> was an American academic who served as the 14th president of [Mount Holyoke College](/source/Mount_Holyoke_College) from 1969–1978. He is also known for his role as a [Columbia University](/source/Columbia_University) administrator during the [Columbia University protests of 1968](/source/Columbia_University_protests_of_1968). Truman was an elected member of both the [American Philosophical Society](/source/American_Philosophical_Society) and the [American Academy of Arts and Sciences](/source/American_Academy_of_Arts_and_Sciences).<ref>{{Cite web |title=APS Member History |url=https://search.amphilsoc.org/memhist/search?creator=David+Truman&title=&subject=&subdiv=&mem=&year=&year-max=&dead=&keyword=&smode=advanced |access-date=2022-12-22 |website=search.amphilsoc.org}}</ref>

==Background and family==
Truman was born and raised in Evanston, Illinois. He received his B.A. from [Amherst College](/source/Amherst_College) and his doctorate from the [University of Chicago](/source/University_of_Chicago). He is the father of economist [Edwin M. Truman](/source/Edwin_M._Truman).

==Political science==
Truman was a prominent political scientist and is known for his contributions to the theory of [political pluralism](/source/pluralism_(political_theory)).

==Administrative roles==
He taught at a number of institutions before joining [Columbia University](/source/Columbia_University) 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](/source/Columbia_College_of_Columbia_University) (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 [sic] takeover of the University, Truman was continually mentioned as a University administrator who retained the student body's respect."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.columbia.edu/cu/news/03/09/davidTruman.html|title=Columbia News ::: Former Provost, University Vice President David Truman Dies}}</ref>

Truman became president of [Mount Holyoke College](/source/Mount_Holyoke_College) in 1969 and stayed until 1978. Truman oversaw the decision to remain a [woman's college](/source/Women's_colleges_in_the_United_States) in 1971.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mtholyoke.edu/cic/about/detailed.shtml|title=A Detailed History|date=18 April 2012|access-date=3 July 2007|archive-date=26 September 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070926222407/http://www.mtholyoke.edu/cic/about/detailed.shtml|url-status=dead}}</ref>

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."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mtholyoke.edu/offices/comm/csj/090503/truman.shtml|title=In Memoriam: President David Truman, 1913–2003|access-date=2005-10-20|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050314020440/http://www.mtholyoke.edu/offices/comm/csj/090503/truman.shtml|archive-date=2005-03-14|url-status=dead}}</ref>

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

== References ==
{{reflist}}

{{s-start}}
{{s-aca}}
{{succession box
| before = [Meribeth E. Cameron](/source/Meribeth_E._Cameron)
| title = President of [Mount Holyoke College](/source/Mount_Holyoke_College)
| years = 1969–1978
| after = [Elizabeth Topham Kennan](/source/Elizabeth_Topham_Kennan)
}}
{{succession box
| before = [John Gorham Palfrey](/source/John_Gorham_Palfrey_(academic))
| title = [Dean of Columbia College](/source/Columbia_College_of_Columbia_University)
| years = 1963–1967
| after = [Henry S. Coleman](/source/Henry_S._Coleman) (acting)
}}
{{s-end}}

{{Authority control}}
{{American Political Science Association presidents}}
{{Mount Holyoke College presidents}}

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

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [David Truman](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Truman) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Truman?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.