News Release

The Johns Hopkins University board of trustees has elected Sarah David, a senior from Pikesville, Md., as its newest young trustee. She will join the university's governing board on July 1.

Sarah David

Every year since 1971, the university's board of trustees has elected one graduating senior to serve a four-year term. The board always has four young trustees among its membership. To qualify for consideration, candidates must be seniors in good standing. In addition to writing two application essays and securing two letters of recommendation, candidates must also receive endorsement from 5 percent of the junior and senior classes. A selection committee chooses five candidates for the board to consider.

David, 21, is completing her bachelor's degree in political science in the university's Krieger School of Arts and Sciences. Next fall, she will begin working on a master's degree in ethnic conflict at Queens University in Belfast, Ireland, supported by a George J. Mitchell Scholarship. Chosen from a nationwide pool of applicants, David was one of 12 scholars selected.

A 2006 Truman Scholar and a 2005 recipient of a Boren Scholarship, David is passionate about politics and issues of national security, both on campus and beyond. She was a campaign manager for Bobby Zirkin, who was elected to the Maryland Senate in November 2006. For the past several years, she has actively shared this deep commitment to public service and civic engagement by teaching international relations and civics to Baltimore City public high school students. She developed and organized the annual "Securing the Future" conference, which brings high school students from throughout the Baltimore area to the Homewood campus to learn about homeland security issues; this year's event took place March 23 and 24. An active Democrat, she was elected to participate in a live televised student debate on national security during the 2004 vice presidential debates and was interviewed on "Hardball" with Chris Matthews. David studies Arabic and Hebrew and for six years studied Japanese.

"Sarah is lively, funny and personable — a real delight," said John Bader, associate dean for academic programs and advising. "She engages in any discussion with great energy and intelligence. She is deeply loyal to Hopkins and loves all its features, from its great academics to its rich lacrosse tradition. She will be a great, prized addition to the board of trustees."

She is the daughter of Steven David, a professor in Johns Hopkins' Political Science Department, where he directs the International Studies Program, and Maureen Walsh David. She graduated from Pikesville High School in 2002.

[Note: High resolution, digital color photo of David is available; contact Amy Lunday. For additional information, see trustees.jhu.edu/youngtrustees.php.]