John Martin Thomas (December 27, 1869 – February 26, 1952) was the ninth

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

of Middlebury College, the ninth president of Penn State, and the twelfth president of

Rutgers University Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's College, and was ...

Biography

Born in Fort Covington, New York, Thomas was an alumnus of Middlebury College, and the Union Theological Seminary. He married Sarah Grace Seely on May 18, 1893, and they had five children. He served as a pastor at the Arlington Avenue Presbyterian Church in East Orange, New Jersey from 1893 to 1908. In 1908, he was appointed

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

of Middlebury College. While president of Middlebury, Thomas oversaw the founding of two of its most prestigious institutions, the

Middlebury College Language Schools The Middlebury Language Schools are language schools administered by Middlebury College. The programs comprise undergraduate and graduate instruction in 13 languages during two-, six-, seven-, or eight-week summer sessions. The Schools enroll ap ...

in 1915 and the

Bread Loaf School of English Middlebury College is a private liberal arts college in Middlebury, Vermont. Founded in 1800 by Congregationalists, Middlebury was the first operating college or university in Vermont. The college currently enrolls 2,858 undergraduates from all 5 ...

in 1920. In addition, he guided a rapid expansion of Middlebury's main campus from four buildings to nine. McCullough Gymnasium (1912) Voter Hall (1913) Mead Chapel (1914), and Hepburn Hall (1917) formed the edges of what is now Middlebury's Main Quadrangle, and Pearson's Hall (1911) became the first building constructed for the women's college. He continued to serve as Middlebury's president until 1921, when he became President of the

Pennsylvania State College The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsylvan ...

(now a University). He left Penn State in 1925. When Thomas was appointed president in 1925, Rutgers was upgraded from a college to a

university A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States ...

. During his tenure, enrollment grew steadily, four year courses in Economics and Business Administration were added to the curriculum, the New Jersey College of Pharmacy was incorporated into the University, and the Bureau of Biochemical and Bacteriology Research was established, in addition to the construction of several new buildings. Thomas resigned in 1930 due to indecisiveness between the state of

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

and university officials over the half-private, half-public role of Rutgers. Upon his resignation, Thomas assumed a vice-presidency of the National Life Insurance Company in

Montpelier, Vermont Montpelier () is the capital city of the U.S. state of Vermont and the seat of Washington County. The site of Vermont's state government, it is the least populous state capital in the United States. As of the 2020 census, the population ...

, became acting president of Norwich University in 1937, and then its president in 1939. Thomas died in Rutland, Vermont in 1952 at the age of 82.

Sources

* ''Who Was Who in America''. A component volume of ''Who's Who in American History'' (Chicago: A.N. Marquis Co.).

External links

Rutgers biography

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Thomas, John 1869 births 1952 deaths Union Theological Seminary (New York City) alumni Middlebury College alumni Presidents of Middlebury College Presidents of Rutgers University Presidents of Pennsylvania State University People from Fort Covington, New York