Consulting Staff

David C. Larsen, PhD

Special Assistant to the President
email:  larsend@arcadia.edu

David Larsen led the Arcadia University College of Global Studies from 1988-2008, as director of the center and as vice president of the university. During this tenure, the center grew into, and remains, one of the country’s largest and most respected campus-based providers of study abroad programs. David has also had a formative influence on the field of international education in general.

David’s personal involvement in education abroad began to take form during his tenure as a high-school English teacher, when he led a group of students on a trip to Europe. He subsequently won a Fulbright grant to teach American literature in Greece. David became Executive Director of the Fulbright Foundation in Greece. Later, he directed an administrative division of the Institute of International Education (IIE) in New York, and then was responsible for the operations at the Center for International Education at the University of Tennessee. He has taught at public and private institutions in the U.S. and abroad, and he works actively with the American Council on Education (ACE) on campus internationalization.

David earned his bachelor's degree in economics from Colby College. He received his Master's in English from the University of Maine and his PhD in philosophy from the Union Graduate School.

He joined NAFSA: Association of International Educators in 1974, and was a member of its Board of Directors, for which he chaired the Development Committee. David also was chair of the Health and Safety Committee of the Section on U.S. Students Abroad (SECUSSA) for several years. He has contributed to countless workshops, sessions, and publications of NAFSA and other education-abroad professional organizations over the years. In 2008, NAFSA made him a life member.

During his career, David has been a director on the boards of the Association for International Practical Training (AIPT), Council on International Educational Exchange (CIEE), the Fulbright Association, the Fulbright Center, the Pennsylvania Council for International Education (PACIE), and the Forum on Education Abroad. David has served on the National Nominating Panel for the National Security Education Program (NSEP), and on the National Review Panel for the Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship program. He was a member of the Interassociational Advisory Committee on Health, Safety, and Security for ten years. As an officer of Arcadia University, he served on Arcadia's Executive Council and was a member of the university’s Planning Council.

David is the recipient of many prestigious awards for excellence in international education, including:

In 2006, David played an essential and motive role in creating the Alliance for Global Education, an important Arcadia partnership for providing North American undergraduates with education abroad opportunties in Asia, especially China and India, as well as other non-traditional destinations. David currently chairs the Alliance’s Management Committee. In his retirement, David continues his work with Arcadia University in the capacity of Special Assistant to the President, a role in which he will, among other duties, provide management assistance and consulting to the Alliance.