Educational Background and Honors

Marcella David earned her Doctorate of Jurisprudence from the University of Michigan Law School (magna cum laude, Order of the Coif) in 1989, and her B.S. in Computer & Systems Engineering (cum Laude, minor in Music History) in 1986 from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. After graduation, David clerked for The Hon. Louis H. Pollak, Eastern District of Pennsylvania, and was selected to clerk for Justice William J. Brennan of the Supreme Court, but did not serve due to his retirement for health reasons. David was a Ford Foundation Fellow in Public International Law at Harvard Law School, and a litigation associate at the New York law firm, Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison, before joining Iowa Law as an Associate Professor in 1995. David was promoted to Professor in 2000.

David has held significant academic leadership positions. At Iowa Law, she served as Associate Dean for Admissions, Director of the Philip G. Hubbard Law School Preparation Program, Associate Dean for International and Comparative Law, and Associate Dean for Strategic Initiatives. At the University level, she served as Interim Associate Provost for Diversity and as Special Assistant to the President for Equal Opportunity and Diversity and Associate Provost for Diversity.

David left Iowa in 2015 to become Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs at Florida Agricultural & Mechanical University and later served as Senior Vice President and Provost at Columbia College Chicago, a role she held from 2019-2025. Since leaving Iowa Law, David has regularly taught at Iowa Civil Procedure Pretrial Theory and Practice as a summer intersession course, and, as Betty T. Feguson Visiting Professor, taught Civil Procedure, Disaster Law, and a variety of other law courses at Florida State University College of Law.

David has contributed significantly to legal scholarship, focusing on international law, human rights, and educational equity, and has received multiple awards recognizing her contributions, including the Outstanding Scholar Award from the Lutie Lytle Black Women Law Faculty Writing Workshop (2016) and the Distinguished Achievement Award from The University of Iowa (2011) for significant contributions to the university community. David plays an active role on community, arts, and educational boards.

Admitted to the New York State Bar and U.S. District Court, S.D.N.Y. (inactive status).