As we ready the SpelHouse 2017 homecoming celebration this weekend, Morehouse College has just announced that they have named David A. Thomas as its 12th president. Thomas is currently the H. Naylor Fitzhugh Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School. He will assume the role of president of the college on January 1, 2018.
The decision to hire Thomas as the next president to serve the board was called after his predecessor, President John Sylvanus Wilson and officers of the school’s Board of Trustees vacated the positions due to a scandalous investigation where they were allegedly accused of shutting out the voices of the students and faculty by replacing them with alumni.
Thomas says he plans to focus on implementing and building competent leadership, while he continues to respect the tradition and values of Morehouse. He reportedly said at a press conference, “My aim is not to depart from it, but build on it.” One of his main objectives is to build on the school’s “master plan” for facilities and expansion.
Thomas is more than accomplished for the presidential position as he holds a Ph.D. in organizational behavior studies and a master’s degree in philosophy in organizational psychology, both from Yale University. He also has a master’s degree in organizational psychology from Columbia University; and a bachelor’s degree in administrative sciences from Yale. He previously serves as the dean of the McDonough School of Business at Georgetown University. Under his leadership, he helped the program raise over $130 million dollars in five years.
Over the last year, Morehouse College has had three different presidents and was at the helm of a lawsuit filed by members of the Student Government Association. Thomas will serve as the college’s first president who is not a graduate of Morehouse since Benjamin E. Mays, who presided in 1940. The 150-year-old institution is the nation’s only all-male HBCU.
