David Maxwell

David Maxwell (born December 2, 1944, New York City) served as the 12th president of Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa from 1999 until 2015. He is the son of jazz trumpeter Jimmy Maxwell. Biography Maxwell served as president of Drake University from May 1999 through June, 2015, and held a faculty appointment as professor of literature. He was awarded the title of president emeritus by Drake's board of trustees upon his retirement. He was director of the National Foreign Language Center in Washington, D.C., from 1993 to 1999, after serving as president of Whitman College from 1989 to 1993. Maxwell was at Tufts University from 1971 to 1989 as a faculty member in Russian language and literature (chairing both the program in Russian and the Soviet & East European area program), and served as dean of undergraduate studies from 1981-89. Since June, 2015 Maxwell has been a senior fellow of the Association of Governing Boards (AGB) and a member of AGB’s consulting practice. He is currently serves as Chair of the board of trustees of Grinnell College. Maxwell earned his bachelor's degree in Russian area studies from Grinnell College in 1966. He was a participant in the critical languages program at Princeton University in 1964-65. Maxwell received his master’s and doctorate degrees in Slavic languages and literatures from Brown University, in 1968 and 1974, respectively. He was a Fulbright Fellow in Moscow, U.S.S.R. in 1970-71.