Thomas College

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Thomas College
Former names
  • Keist Business College (1894–1896)
  • Morgan Business College (1896–1911)
  • Morgan-Thomas Business College (1911–1950)
  • Thomas Junior College (1950–1962) [1]
MottoThose we Serve are the Foundation of Our Future
Type Private college
Established1894;130 years ago (1894)
Endowment $21.9 million (2020) [2]
President Laurie G. Lachance
Provost Thomas Edwards
Academic staff
80
Students1,949 (fall 2019) [3]
Undergraduates 1,819 (fall 2019) [3]
Postgraduates 130 (fall 2019) [3]
Location
Waterville, Maine
,
U.S.

44°31′28″N69°39′48″W / 44.52444°N 69.66333°W / 44.52444; -69.66333
CampusRural
Colors    Red and black
Sporting affiliations
 NCAA Division III – NAC
MascotTommy the Terrier
Website Official website OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
Official Thomas College logo 2023.png

Thomas College is a private college in Waterville, Maine, United States. It offers undergraduate and graduate degrees and is accredited by the New England Commission of Higher Education. As of fall 2019 Thomas College enrolled 1,949 students; 1,819 were undergraduate students and 130 were graduate students. [3]

Contents

History

Keist Business College was established in 1894 when it was founded as a nonsectarian, co-educational college dedicated to career training. It was located on three floors above the F. W. Woolworth Company in the Edith Building on Main Street in Waterville. At the turn of the century, Keist Business College was purchased by William Morgan. It was renamed Morgan Business College in 1896.

In 1911, a Peterborough, New Hampshire railroad administrator, John L. Thomas Sr., who himself was a business college graduate, purchased the college and renamed it Morgan-Thomas Business College. For half a century the college trained accountants and secretaries.

In 1950, the college was renamed Thomas Junior College and in 1956, the college moved from Main Street to the former home of John Ware on Silver Street.

In 1962, Thomas Junior College was renamed Thomas College. In 1963, the Maine State Legislature granted Thomas the right to confer four-year degrees and in 1964 the Mariner Library, named after Chairman of the Thomas College Board of Trustees, Ernest C. Mariner, was opened. In 1965, a theater for lectures and dramatic presentations was constructed, but towards the end of the decade, the college had outgrown its Silver Street campus. [4]

In 1966, the college purchased more than 70 acres (280,000 m2) of land next on the Kennebec River. The entire college was relocated to the West River Road campus.

In April 2012, the college announced the inauguration of its fifth president, Laurie G. Lachance, M.B.A.'92. Lachance is the first woman and first alumna to head the college. [5]

Academics

Thomas College offers over 30 undergraduate majors. [6]

Athletics

Thomas College has 20 varsity athletic programs, which about 45% of the student population participates. Thomas has an esports program, [7] which was expanded in 2024. Thomas plans to double the size of its esports facilities and equipment, hiring additional coaching staff, and making more room for esports athletes to join. [8]

The college mascot is a terrier nicknamed "Tommy" who appears at sporting and other public events.

Alumni include a number of international soccer players, including Mikkail Crockwell and Tre Ming, both of whom played for the Bermuda national football team.[ citation needed ]

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Laurie Gagnon Lachance is an American economist and college administrator. Since 2012, she has been the president of Thomas College in Waterville, Maine, and is the first woman to fill that post. She was previously the first woman Maine State Economist and the first woman president of the Maine Development Foundation. She was inducted into the Maine Women's Hall of Fame in 2014.

References

  1. ↑ "THE HISTORY OF THOMAS COLLEGE". thomas.edu. Thomas College. Retrieved December 9, 2023.
  2. ↑ As of June 30, 2020. U.S. and Canadian Institutions Listed by Fiscal Year 2020 Endowment Market Value and Change in Endowment Market Value from FY19 to FY20 (Report). National Association of College and University Business Officers and TIAA. February 19, 2021. Retrieved February 21, 2021.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "Thomas College - Profile, Rankings and Data". US News Best Colleges. March 10, 2016. Retrieved July 22, 2023.
  4. ↑ "History - Thomas College". Archived from the original on August 5, 2012. Retrieved January 26, 2012.
  5. ↑ "President Lachance Honored at Maine Women's Hall of Fame". WCSH . March 17, 2014. Retrieved February 11, 2016.
  6. ↑ "Undergraduate Programs - Thomas College" . Retrieved January 15, 2014.
  7. ↑ "Esports - Thomas College". www.thomas.edu. Retrieved April 23, 2021.
  8. ↑ Kennedy, Mike. "Maine college will build athletic facility". www.asumag.com. Retrieved April 23, 2021.
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