- Joab Thomas
Joab Langston Thomas was born in
1933 in Holt,Alabama . He was educated atHarvard University where he earned three degrees in biological sciences with a concentration in botany.He served as a professor of biology at the
University of Alabama from1966 until his appointment as vice president for student affairs in1969 .Thomas took the position of chancellor at
North Carolina State University in1975 ; the school's ninth chief executive. While in office, enrollment at the university surpassed 20,000 for the first time. He also oversaw the establishment of the School of Veterinary Medicine. Thomas resigned as chancellor in 1981.In
1981 Thomas returned to the University of Alabama to serve as the school's president, an office he held until1988 . He also served as president ofPennsylvania State University from1990 -1995 . The Thomas Building on Penn State's University Park campus is named in his honor, and houses parts of the Eberly College of Science, including the Department of Statistics. [http://www.campusmaps.psu.edu/buildings/thomas.shtml]Thomas was a member of the academic honor societies
Phi Beta Kappa andSigma Xi .References
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