David serves as Director of Bringing Theory to Practice, a national initiative advancing paradigmatic change in college learning. For twenty years, he has worked to advance the democratic purposes of higher education. From 1989 to 2005, he taught American Studies, U.S. cultural history, and architecture at the University of Michigan; in 1998, he founded UM Arts of Citizenship program, which fostered public work and community projects in the arts, humanities, and design. He served as Director of the Harward Center for Community Partnerships at Bates College (2005-10), the inaugural Executive Dean of the School for Public Engagement at The New School in New York City (2010-2014), and Senior Scholar for The Graduate! Network, which supports college access and success for adult learners (2014-2018). A scholar of American Studies, he is the author of Empire City: The Making and Meaning of the New York City Landscape (Temple University Press, 2002), as well as other studies of U.S. cultural and urban history. He also writes extensively on current issues in higher education.