David Emmanuel Gray


Associate Teaching Professor of Philosophy

Howdy 👋


I’m David Emmanuel Gray, an Associate Teaching Professor of Philosophy at the University at Buffalo. Outside of my ongoing endeavor to become a better philosophy instructor and develop our PPE program, I specialize in social and political philosophy, ethical theory, and decision theory. My teaching also focuses on conflict resolution and applied ethics (especially for business and leadership).

Prior to my time here in Buffalo, I spent over a decade in Doha, Qatar. I taught undergraduate and executive education courses at the branch campuses for Carnegie Mellon University, Northwestern University, and Georgetown’s Walsh School of Foreign Service. I am especially proud of developing the philosophy curriculum at CMU-Q while introducing and curating a successful minor in ethics. With budding entrepreneurs, activists, intellectuals—and even an Olympic athlete—I had the privilege to mentor some truly amazing individuals.

I also worked on social responsibility projects with local companies, ministries, and other organizations. I was also frequently invited to deliver talks on negotiation, conflict resolution, business ethics, sustainability reporting and corporate social responsibility, and ethics of leadership. I even did a TEDx talk on religious tolerance. It was a lot of fun!

I received my Ph.D. from Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh under Alex John London and Teddy Seidenfeld. My dissertation was on liberalism, democracy, and decision making under unresolved conflict. In addition, I have bachelor’s degrees in both Philosophy and Computer Science from the University of Montana.

While in Pittsburgh, I met my wife Jennifer. We have many cats.