David H. Smith *67

David died Oct. 5, 2024, in Bloomington, Ind.

He was born in Evanston, Ill., April 28, 1939. After receiving his B.A. from Carleton College in 1960, he earned a bachelor of divinity degree from Yale in 1964 and a Ph.D. in religion from Princeton in 1967.

After Princeton, David joined the faculty at Indiana University, where he helped to launch the religious studies department.

David’s intellectual work was in the area of religion and bioethics. He became director of Indiana’s Poynter Center for the Study of Ethics and American Institutions, overseeing the teaching of ethics, care for the dying, genetic testing, research ethics, the moral responsibilities of trustees, and the relationship of religion and ethics.

After retiring from Indiana in 2003, David became the Frederick Distinguished Visiting Professor at DePauw University, where he helped start the Janet Prindle Institute for Ethics. He was also a visitor at Yale’s Institution for Social and Policy Studies and the Interdisciplinary Center for Bioethics. He served on the board of the Indiana Governor’s Council for People with Disabilities and conducted professional development training for the U.S. Navy Chaplain Corps.

David’s wife, Marie-Louise; children Alexandra, Zachary, and Jacob; and five grandchildren survive him.

Graduate memorials are prepared by the APGA.