David A. Crocker

David A. Crocker came to UMD in 1993, specializing in international development ethics, sociopolitical philosophy, transitional justice, democracy and democratization. He has directed seven study-abroad trips to Morocco and one each to Peru and Ethiopia. After three degrees from Yale University (MDiv, MA, and PhD), Crocker taught philosophy for 25 years at Colorado State University, where he established one of the world's first courses in ethics and international development. He was a visiting professor at the University of Munich, was twice a Fulbright Scholar at the University of Costa Rica, held the UNESCO Chair in Development at the University of Valencia (Spain), and taught at the National Autonomous University of Honduras, the University of Chile, and the University of the Andes (Colombia). He has been a consultant with the Inter-American Development Bank, USAID, the World Bank, and the International Center for Transitional Justice.

Crocker has given 300 invited lectures or conference papers in English or Spanish in over 25 countries. His most recent publications are Ethics of Global Development: Agency, Capability and Deliberative Democracy, “Development and Global Ethics: Five Foci for the Future,” and “Obstáculos para la reconciliación en el Perú: un análisis ético.” Cambridge University Press published a Festschrift in his honor, entitled Agency and Democracy in Development Ethics (edited by Stacy Kosko and Lori Keleher).

In 2010, Crocker received the Landmark Award "given for exceptional long-term achievements in support of international life at the University of Maryland." In 2018, he received the School of Public Policy’s award for “Social Impact.” Since 2015, Crocker has directed KEMS-Kids Excelling in Math and Science, an after-school enrichment programs at Hyattsville (MD) Middle School.