Board of Trustees Appoints 12th President of Morehouse College

ATLANTA, Oct. 16, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- The Morehouse College Board of Trustees voted Sunday to name Dr. David A. Thomas as the 12^th President of Morehouse College, ushering in a new era of leadership for the 150-year-old historically black institution. Dr. Thomas is the H. Naylor Fitzhugh Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School and the former Dean of Georgetown University's McDonough School of Business.

Thomas' appointment ends a six-month period of leadership transition at the College that began in April when the Board announced its national search for a new Morehouse President. The Presidential Search Committee, assisted by Issacson Miller recruiters, reviewed the profiles of more than 100 executives for the role, including several sitting college presidents. Thomas was chosen as the top candidate because of his visionary leadership as a business school administrator and his proven track record in fundraising, which includes a capital campaign that raised more than $130 million in five years for Georgetown McDonough.

"Dr. Thomas is a nationally respected business educator and visionary leader with a support network that will bring transformative change to Morehouse College," said Willie Woods '85, chairman of the Board of Trustees. "Having David at Morehouse will raise the profile of our world-class institution and lead to partnerships that will allow Morehouse to be more competitive for top students, expand our academic programs, improve our facilities, and provide more signature opportunities for leadership that make Morehouse Men among the most sought-after graduates in the country."

Thomas has 30 years of higher education experience. He holds a Ph.D. in Organizational Behavior Studies and a Master of Philosophy in Organizational Behavior degree, both from Yale University. He also has a Master of Organizational Psychology degree from Columbia University and a Bachelor of Administrative Sciences degree from Yale College. Thomas assumes office on Monday, Jan. 1, 2018, leaving Morehouse under the experienced guidance of Interim President Harold Martin Jr. '02 until the end of the calendar year.

"I am humbled and honored to be appointed as the next President of Morehouse College," said Thomas. "What draws me to Morehouse is that I see a connection between what I value and what this college has always represented —the mission to develop men with disciplined minds who will lead lives of leadership and service, and to be stewards of black culture and community. There is no place like Morehouse on the planet."

Thomas is planning to launch a major capital campaign to increase funds for student scholarships, among other needs. He will also focus on making Morehouse a premier institution for research on the black experience, and will work to expand Morehouse's international outreach, including in its student recruitment and hiring practices. Another priority Thomas is eager to expand is Morehouse's development of future leaders who are intellectual, spiritually-minded, and capable of creating change that makes the world more just.

Morehouse has produced four Rhodes Scholars and leaders in many fields. According to the National Science Foundation, Morehouse is the nation's top producer of black males who continue their education and receive doctorates. The National Science Foundation also ranked Morehouse as the No. 1 producer of black men who receive doctorates in education, life and physical sciences, math and computer sciences, psychology and social sciences, as well as humanities and the arts.

Thomas will be the first Morehouse President in 50 years who did not graduate from the College. The last President who was not an alumnus was Dr. Benjamin Elijah Mays, Morehouse's revered sixth President who mentored Martin Luther King Jr.

"I think the entire Morehouse family will be very excited about the appointment of President-Elect Thomas," said Dr. Robert M. Franklin, President-Emeritus. "David is deeply committed to educating African American men and to innovative approaches to higher education. He has spent his entire career from Yale to Harvard Business School to Georgetown University preparing for this opportunity. He appreciates the signal honor of being selected as the first non-alumnus Morehouse president since Dr. Benjamin Mays, and we stand ready to support and serve with him." 

Presidential Search Committee Chair Dale Jones noted that Thomas has the endorsement of scores of alumni, faculty, staff, and student representatives who met with him during the interview process. "We were searching for the right leader to set the stage for another 150 years of success at Morehouse," said Jones '82. "We vetted many candidates, including outstanding women. What we found in Dr. Thomas was a commitment to excellence and invaluable experience. He's an exceptional leader and the right individual to lead Morehouse into the future."

Thomas said he is looking forward to working with the Morehouse community and its many supporters, and is appreciative of the positive feedback he has received about his presidency. "Morehouse was actually where I wanted to go to college from the time I was 10. I got into Morehouse, but I didn't receive any financial aid. My second-choice school did offer a scholarship, so I enrolled there, but always with a yearning to be at Morehouse," he said. "As the son of working-class parents who did not attend college, I understand the transformative power of higher education for people of color. I also understand what it means to be a black male in America, and the determination and strength of character that it takes to be successful. I will work tirelessly to help raise the scholarship funds necessary so that no deserving student who wants a Morehouse education is left behind."

As Dean of Georgetown McDonough from 2011 to 2016, Thomas led 250 employees and more than 2,000 students through a period of growth, which included the redesign of the MBA curriculum, the launch of the school's first online degree program, and a $130 million capital campaign. Prior to Georgetown, Thomas served as a professor and administrator at Harvard University—where he returned in 2017—and an assistant professor at University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School of Business.

In addition to his work as an educator, Thomas serves as a member of the Board of Directors of DTE Energy, the American Red Cross, and the Posse Foundation. He is the recipient of Washington Business Journal's 2014 "Minority Business Leader of the Year" award and the National Executive Forum's "Breaking Through: 2020, Beacon Award," among other honors. Over the past 30 years, he has also worked as a consultant on issues relating to organizational change, and diversity and inclusion for 100 of the Fortune 500 companies as well as major governmental and nonprofit organizations.

Thomas is nationally renowned for his research in managing diversity in the workplace. He has written numerous case studies and academic articles on the subject. He also is the co-author of two related books: "Breaking Through: The Making of Minority Executives in Corporate America," which is one of the first in-depth studies to focus on minorities who have made it to the top, and "Leading for Equity: The Pursuit of Excellence in Montgomery County."

Ranked America's fifth "Most Entrepreneurial College" by Forbes Magazine in 2015, Morehouse College is the nation's largest liberal arts college for men. Founded in 1867, the College enrolls approximately 2,200 students and historically has conferred more bachelor's degrees on black men than any other institution in the world. Morehouse College is one of the two top producers of Rhodes Scholars among HBCUs. Prominent alumni include: Martin Luther King Jr., Nobel Peace Prize Laureate; Dr. David Satcher, former U.S. Surgeon General; Shelton "Spike" Lee, American filmmaker; Maynard H. Jackson, the first African American mayor of Atlanta.; and Jeh Johnson, former U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security. Morehouse currently has more than 16,000 alumni in 40 states and 14 countries.

SOURCE Morehouse College