David Anthony Thomas (born September 26, 1956) is an American psychologist, expert on organizational behavior, and academic administrator who currently serves as the 12th president of

Morehouse College , mottoeng = And there was light (literal translation of Latin itself translated from Hebrew: "And light was made") , type = Private historically black men's liberal arts college , academic_affiliations ...

, a

historically Black Historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) are institutions of higher education in the United States that were established before the Civil Rights Act of 1964 with the intention of primarily serving the African-American community. ...

men's college in

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

. From 2017 to 2018, he was the H. Naylor Fitzhugh Professor of Business Administration at

Harvard Business School Harvard Business School (HBS) is the graduate business school of Harvard University, a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. It is consistently ranked among the top business schools in the world and offers a large full-time MBA p ...

. Thomas served at the

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private research university in the Georgetown (Washington, D.C.), Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789 as Georg ...

McDonough School of Business The Robert Emmett McDonough School of Business, commonly shorted to the McDonough School of Business and abbreviated as the MSB, is the business school of Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. Founded in 1957, it grants both undergraduate and ...

as its Dean from 2011 to 2016 and as the William R. Berkley Chair and Professor of Management from 2016 to 2017. Thomas was earlier a professor of business administration at

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

, from 1990 to 2011, where he rose to direct the school's Organizational Behavior Unit as the Fitzhugh chair from 2006 to 2011. He was a senior associate dean and director of faculty recruitment, there, from 2005 to 2008. Before joining the faculty at Harvard in 1990, Thomas was an assistant professor of management at the

Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania ( ; also known as Wharton Business School, the Wharton School, Penn Wharton, and Wharton) is the business school of the University of Pennsylvania, a Private university, private Ivy League rese ...

from 1986 to 1990.

Early life

Thomas was born and raised in

Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City (abbreviated KC or KCMO) is the largest city in Missouri by population and area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 508,090 in 2020, making it the 36th most-populous city in the United States. It is the central ...

, where he attended

Paseo Academy Paseo Academy, also referred to as Paseo Academy of Fine and Performing Arts and sometimes Paseo High School, is a magnet performing arts high school located at 4747 Flora Avenue in Kansas City, Missouri. It is part of the Kansas City Public Scho ...

. In high school, Thomas studied abroad in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. He earned his Bachelor of Arts in administrative sciences from

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...

, graduating in 1978. Thomas then earned a master's degree in

organizational psychology Industrial and organizational psychology (I-O psychology), an applied discipline within psychology, is the science of human behavior in the workplace. Depending on the country or region of the world, I-O psychology is also known as occupational ...

from

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

in 1981 and returned to Yale to earn his

Master of Philosophy The Master of Philosophy (MPhil; Latin ' or ') is a postgraduate degree. In the United States, an MPhil typically includes a taught portion and a significant research portion, during which a thesis project is conducted under supervision. An MPhil m ...

in 1984 and his

Doctor of Philosophy A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common Academic degree, degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields ...

in 1986. When he was applying for undergraduate studies, he wanted to go to

and was accepted, but instead chose Yale, where he was able to receive

financial aid Student financial aid in the United States is funding that is available exclusively to students attending a post-secondary educational institution in the United States. This funding is used to assist in covering the many costs incurred in the p ...

Career

Early years

After earning his doctorate in 1986, Thomas was hired as an assistant professor of management at the

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

. Upon his appointment, he was awarded the title of Atlantic Richfield Foundation Term Assistant Professor of Human Resource Management. He held both of these teaching and research positions until 1990 when he moved to

Harvard University

In 1990, Thomas began as an assistant professor at

and by 1993 was promoted to associate professor of business administration. In 1999 he served for one year as professor of business administration until he was awarded the title H. Naylor Fitzhugh Professor of Business Administration. He held this title until 2011, when he left Harvard to join the

as dean. In 2005, Harvard also appointed him senior associate dean, director of faculty recruiting, and in 2006 he was appointed as unit head of Harvard's Organizational Behavior Unit.

Georgetown University

In 2011, Thomas joined

as dean of the

. During his time at Georgetown, he merged the administration of the full-time and evening MBA programs, redesigned the curriculum, and launched a new Master of Science in finance online degree program. He also started a number of new collaborations for the school including a summer internship on entrepreneurship with

ESADE Esade (Escola Superior d'Administració i Direcció d'Empreses) is a prestigious international private educational institution based in Barcelona, Spain. Esade runs two schools of the university, Esade Business School and Esade Law School, as well ...

in Spain. The newly designed MBA curriculum focuses on breaking down silos between subject areas and is a more integrative approach to education. It is also focused on the global nature of business, which is one of the five strategic themes Thomas has set for the school. In addition, Thomas expanded the evening MBA program to

Tysons Corner, Virginia Tysons, also known as Tysons Corner, is a census-designated place (CDP) in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States, developed from the corner of Chain Bridge Road ( SR 123) and the Leesburg Pike ( SR 7). Located in Northern Virginia between the c ...

, launched a global business initiative, and recruited a diverse set of new faculty. David Thomas set five strategic themes for the McDonough School of Business after he arrived in 2011. (1) Provide a transformational educational experience for students. (2) Be in service to business and society. (3) Embrace global in everything the school does. (4) Excellence in research to impact practice. (5) Develop a community of philanthropic leadership to support the school.

Research

David Thomas has researched and written extensively on diversity within organizations, executive development and higher education Dr. Thomas has co-authored two books: ''Breaking Through: The Making of Minority Executives in Corporate America'' (

Harvard Business Press Harvard Business Publishing was founded in 1994 as a not-for-profit, wholly owned subsidiary of Harvard University (distinct from Harvard University Press), with a focus on improving business management practices. The company consists of three ...

, 1999) and ''Leading for Equity: The Pursuit of Excellence in Montgomery County'' (

Harvard Education Press The Harvard Graduate School of Education (HGSE) is the education school of Harvard University, a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1920, it was the first school to grant the EdD degree and the first Harvard school ...

, 2009), and written more than 60 case studies and articles for academic journals and others publications.

Archives and records

David A. Thomas papers
at Baker Library Special Collections, Harvard Business School

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thomas, David A 1956 births Living people McDonough School of Business faculty Georgetown University deans Harvard Business School faculty Presidents of Morehouse College Teachers College, Columbia University alumni Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania faculty Yale University alumni