Dr. Jackie C. Thomas, Jr., has over 16 years of progressively responsible higher education leadership experience. He has established himself as a visionary and innovative leader with a proven ability to set, define, and accomplish the goals he sets for himself, a team, and an organization. Throughout his career, he has been actively involved with coaching and mentoring leaders, building high-performing teams, strengthening communities, and working to get more people access to higher education. He began his higher education career in student affairs, where he worked in student activities, first-year experience programs, and residential life and housing. He later transitioned to academic affairs, where he served as full-time faculty, department lead, and assistant dean of instruction. Dr. Thomas currently serves as the chief strategist at Lone Star College-Tomball. In this capacity, he provides leadership to the following areas: college relations, professional development, multimedia services, diversity and inclusion, grants, strategic planning, alumni relations and fundraising, community engagement, research and innovation, and institutional effectiveness. Dr. Thomas has participated in several leadership development programs: American Association of Community College’s Future President’s Institute, the Thomas Lakin Institute for Mentored Leadership, and the Aspen Institute Rising President’s Fellowship.
Education
Ph.D. (Educational Psychology and Individual Differences) | University of Houston
M.S. (Higher Education) | Florida State University
B.S. (Consumer Science and Merchandising) | University of Houston
Past Experience
Executive Director of College Relations | Lone Star College-Tomball
Assistant Dean of Instruction |Lone Star College-Tomball
Associate Professor/Department Lead | Lone Star College-Tomball
Residence Life Coordinator |University of Houston
How has education changed your life/your family?
Education has had a profound impact on my life and my family. My time as an undergraduate and graduate student fundamentally changed how I viewed myself and the contribution I wanted to make in the world. In fact, it was my experiences in college that led me to the higher education profession. Each day, I step foot on a college campus and work with amazing faculty and staff to provide more people with access to education and a better life. It is also amazing to see how being exposed to college at such an early age has impacted my children and their excitement about furthering their education.