David Ellis

Former President and Current Trustee Emeritus, Museum of Science

Emeritus Member

Dr. David W. Ellis served as President and Director of the Museum of Science, Boston, from 1990 to 2003 and currently serves as Trustee Emeritus. Prior to joining the Museum of Science, Dr. Ellis served as President of Lafayette College in Easton, Pennsylvania from 1978 to 1990.  From 1962 to 1978, he held a variety of positions at the University of New Hampshire, from Assistant and Associate professor of Chemistry to Vice President for Academic Affairs. He holds an A.B. in Chemistry from Haverford College; a Ph.D. in Chemistry from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and completed in 1989 the Advanced Management Program at the Harvard University Graduate School of Business.

Dr. Ellis, upon his retirement from the Museum of Science, in 2003 began a new career as interim administrator, board member, consultant and arbitrator.  He served as interim head of 5 institutions, including the Harvard Museum of Natural History and the Boston Children’s Museum. He served as President of The Museum Group, composed of 30 independent museum consultants, from 2005-2009, and as the first Senior Fellow with The Boston Foundation in 2003-2004.  Dr. Ellis was an arbitrator for FINRA for 33 years and has consulted for many years, including in Brazil for 15 years from 1995 through 2009. He currently serves on the boards of the Conservation Law Foundation (Vice Chair), Manomet, Inc. and the Empower Success Corps among others. Dr. Ellis served as Chair of the Board of Directors of Elderhostel (now Road Scholar), Chair of the Board of the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities, and as a Member and Chair of the Directorate on Education and Human Resources of the National Science Foundation. He has served on the boards of the American Alliance of Museums, the Boston 4 Celebrations Foundation, and the MIT Museum Advisory Board among others. He has received several honorary degrees and the Alumni Distinguished Achievement Award from Haverford College.