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NJIT Community Mourns Loss of Dr. Gary Thomas |
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| The NJIT community mourns the loss of Dr. Gary Thomas who died on Tuesday, January 1, 2008, at age 70. An engineer, educator and administrator, Dr. Thomas served 18 years at NJIT: as provost and senior vice president for academic affairs from 1990 to 1998; as vice president for research and graduate studies from 1992 through 1998; and vice president for academic affairs from 1980 to 1990. Thomas also helped form NJIT’s College of Science and Liberal Arts (where he served as the first dean), the School of Management, and the Dorman Honors College. Subsequent to his tenure at NJIT, Dr. Thomas was appointed chancellor of the University of Missouri–Rolla. He retired from that position and returned to New Jersey in 2005. |
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Dr. Thomas is survived by his wife, Barbara Tedesco, who is associate dean at NJIT’s School of Management, as well as four children, Katelin Thomas, Ellie Thomas, Derek Thomas, and Jennifer Tedesco; three grandchildren, Gwyneth and Caleb Foley and Ahsaan Cauley; his sister, Lois Innes; his brother, Donald Thomas; and many nieces and nephews.
During his service at NJIT, he led the development of the university’s academic and research programs resulting in significant growth in research expenditures to over $40 million. Dr. Thomas advocated for the growth of graduate education programs in order to support the university’s research effort. A doubling of PhD awards was achieved during his tenure.
A memorial service was held Jan. 30, 2008, with speakers from NJIT including Robert A. Altenkirch, president; Saul K. Fenster, president emeritus; Priscilla Nelson, provost; Urs Gauchat, dean, New Jersey School of Architecture; Fadi Deek, dean, College of Science and Liberal Arts; Joel S. Bloom, vice president of academic and student services and dean, Albert Dorman Honors College; and from University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, Cathy Innes, director, office of technology development.
As a tribute to Provost Thomas’ leadership for graduate education and research growth at NJIT, the Gary Thomas Doctoral Fellowship Program has been established by the university, with the first awards to be made in fall 2008. The Fellowship program will support two doctoral candidates with tuition, fees, and stipend for the first two years of their education. During years three and four, recipients will be expected to be supported by external research grants, and they will receive The Gary Thomas Award in the amount of $2,000.
Anyone interested in making a gift to the fellowship fund should contact Jacquelynn Rhodes, Associate Vice President of Development at 973-596-3407; rhodes@njit.edu
Checks should be made payable to The NJIT Foundation and sent to the address below.
Office of University Advancement
Attn: Gary Thomas Doctoral Fellowships
New Jersey Institute of Technology
323 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
Newark, NJ 07102-1982C
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