Jack Thomas is an American academic administrator who served as the 11th President of

Western Illinois University Western Illinois University (WIU) is a public university in Macomb, Illinois. It was founded in 1899 as Western Illinois State Normal School. As the normal school grew, it became Western Illinois State Teachers College. History Western Illin ...

. He was named to the position January 18, 2011, and took office July 1, succeeding

Alvin Goldfarb Alvin "Al" Goldfarb is an American academic administrator who served as the tenth president of Western Illinois University from 2002 to 2011. From 1977 to 2002, he was on the faculty of the department of theatre at Illinois State University in N ...

Education

Thomas earned a B.A. in

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

from Alabama A&M University in 1983, a

M.Ed. The Master of Education (MEd or M.Ed. or Ed.M.; Latin ''Magister Educationis'' or ''Educationis Magister'') is a master's degree awarded by university, universities in many countries. This degree in education often includes the following majors: ...

in English

Education Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty. Va ...

from

Virginia State University Virginia State University (VSU or Virginia State) is a public historically Black land-grant university in Ettrick, Virginia. Founded on , Virginia State developed as the United States's first fully state-supported four-year institution of high ...

in 1984, and a

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

in English Literature and Criticism from

Indiana University of Pennsylvania Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP) is a public research university in Indiana County, Pennsylvania. As of fall 2021, the university enrolled 7,044 undergraduates and 1,865 postgraduates, for a total enrollment of 9,009 students. The univ ...

in 1990.

Career

Prior to his appointment as president of

, Thomas held the post of provost and academic vice president at WIU, beginning in 2008. Before joining WIU, he held the positions of senior vice provost for academic affairs and interim dean at Middle Tennessee State University, as well as academic posts at

University of Maryland Eastern Shore University of Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES) is a public historically black land-grant research university in Princess Anne, Maryland. It is part of the University System of Maryland. It is classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High r ...

and South Carolina State University. On June 14, 2019, he announced that he would be resigning from his position as president, effective June 30. Upon Thomas's resignation, incoming provost Martin Abraham succeeded him as the university's acting president while the Board of Trustees conducted a national search for a new president. In November 2022, it was announced that Central State University had hired outside counsel to investigate allegations made by five women Thomas created a “toxic work culture” that has included discrimination, slander, demotions and fear of retaliation.

Personal life

Thomas and his wife, Linda, have two sons, Patrick and Darius.

References

Living people Date of birth missing (living people) Heads of universities and colleges in the United States American educational theorists Indiana University of Pennsylvania alumni Virginia State University alumni Alabama A&M University alumni Western Illinois University people Middle Tennessee State University faculty University of Maryland Eastern Shore faculty South Carolina State University faculty Year of birth missing (living people) {{US-edu-bio-stub