Office of the President

MEMORANDUM

DATE: August 25, 2017

TO: Kentucky State University Board of Regents

FROM: M. Christopher Brown II, Ph.D. Eighteenth President U. Ch

RE: Debbie G. Thomas, Ph.D. Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Request for Tenure as Full Professor, School of Education

Members of the Kentucky State University Board of Regents, on behalf of Debbie G. Thomas, Ph.D., Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs at Kentucky State University, I submit to you this formal request for consideration of her credentials and approval of her petition for tenure as full Professor in the Kentucky State University School of Education. With over twenty-seven years of extensive higher education experience in multiple administrative and academic roles, Dr. Thomas has served as a faculty member, administrator, and senior executive in numerous higher education institutions. Throughout her career, she has excelled in research, teaching, and service focusing on topics including social justice, diversity, teacher education, equity and excellence, higher education administration, educational reform, and urban education.

Dr. Thomas has an excellent record of publications in peer-reviewed journals and presentations at national conferences. She has also provided cutting-edge diversity training and professional development for many corporations, non-profit organizations, and educational institutions in the public and private sectors. As a nationally-recognized expert in diversity and social justice, she has been a keynote speaker for educational organizations and agencies across the nation.

The transformative core values which have consistently been the theoretical underpinnings of Dr. Thomas' educational philosophy and overall work in higher education include transformational leadership and student-centered decision-making, strategic planning and collaborative engagement, cultural diversity and social justice, shared governance and transparency, and also continuous quality improvement and effective communication. With an unwavering dedication to academic and administrative excellence, she is a tremendous asset to the University as the Chief Academic Officer, and she will work tirelessly to fulfill our institutional credo by affording all students the highest caliber of education. I hereby affirm my full support of Dr. Thomas' request for tenure as full Professor in the Kentucky State University School of Education.

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