David was the 1979 IHS Student Body President, and he later became a well-known AIDS researcher and author, as well as a respected psychotherapist. To quote the Whitman College website, “After graduating in 1983, Nord claimed that he “stumbled down a path without purpose or direction” until he contracted AIDS in 1985. Contracting AIDS provided the impetus for Nord to acquire his Master’s degree in psychotherapy from Antioch University, work with myriad Seattle based HIV/AIDS groups, and endow Whitman College with the Nord Award, beginning in 1996.” The David Nord Award is now awarded each year to the student who does the most work addressing the Whitman gay and lesbian community.
David wrote a book about his experience, and eventually died from AIDS in Seattle on November 27, 1999.
