Today, September 25 marks the 7th Anniversary of the passing of Dr.
Alvin I. Thomas, president emeritus of Prairie View A&M University.
It was on this day in 2013 that heralded call to heaven and the people in the village shouted “the chief has left the village!”
Dr. Thomas was preceded in death by his parents, Clarence P. Thomas and
Lillian Gilbert Thomas, a brother, Talmadge J. Thomas, and a sister Sr.
Mary Francine (N. E. Grace M. Thomas).
He was born on September 7, 1925 in New Orleans, Louisiana and attended
elementary school at Holy Ghost Catholic School and Corpus Christi
Catholic School. He attended New Orleans’ public middle and high school
at Tommy LaFon and graduated from McDonald No. 35 Public School.
Thomas began his college studies at Xavier University of New Orleans for
two years prior to being drafted into the U.S. Army to serve his country
in World War II. During war he served in the United States, France,
Belgium, Luxemburg, Germany, the Philippines and Korea. After his
honorable discharge from the Army he enrolled at Kansas State College,
where he received the Bachelors and Masters Degree. While at Kansas
State College, he was elected to Honor Society in Mathematics, Honor
Society in Physics, and Epsilon Pi Tau Honor Society in Technology. He
later enrolled at Pennsylvania State University, and then Ohio State
University where he received his Ph.D. degree 1957. As a youth, Dr.
Thomas was an active member of Boy Scout Troop 134 in New Orleans, LA.
He continued his interest and financial support of the Boy Scouts
Program until his death.
Dr. Thomas joined the Prairie View A&M faculty in February 1949 as a professor and later served as Director of the Technology Division, Dean of the College of Industrial
Education and Technology and then appointed President of the College
on November 22, 1966. Early in his administration, with the approval of
The Texas A&M University System Board of Regents, through his visionary
leadership he established a Centennial Council and engaged some 100
professionals from academia, business, clergy and government to chart
the course for the university with a 1970-1980 long range Development
Plan to guide the university into first class recognition. Meetings
were conducted at strategic geographical areas throughout the State of
Texas. These meetings included community leaders, alumni, business
leaders, grass roots, citizens, students, etc. The outcome of the
council work was an exhaustive long-range plan which still impacts the
growth of the University. Incidentally, part of that plan was the
incorporation of the City of Prairie View in 1969, an outgrowth of the
Community Chess, the forerunner for citizens involvement.
As an outgrowth of this plan and its recommendations, the Texas State
Legislature changed the name of the institution to Prairie View A&M
University and its status as an independent unit of The Texas A&M
University System was reconfirmed, effective August 15, 1973. The term "A&M" was also confirmed as a symbol for the system reaffirming the commitment to agricultural and mechanical sciences. The plan also led
to a major campus renovation and construction program which included
the purchase of the nine-story Hermann building in the Texas Medical
Center, which was renovated for the Prairie View A&M University
College of Nursing. His political prowess manifested itself through his
relationship and knowledge of working with the legislature with
increased political capital for support of Prairie View A&M
University and gaining its rightful part of the Permanent University
Fund, enjoyed more today by his successors. Part of his new vision was
the establishment of the the Law and Medical Schools and several
Doctoral degrees at Prairie View A&M University under the Office of
Civil Rights agreement with the Federal Government by the State of Texas
in the Target 2000 Plan for removing 'dejure segregation' in higher
education. While he did not achieve a medical or law school for the university, his legacy
lives on. The long range plan also led to tremendous changes in
curricula, student services, facilities, degrees, the Cooperative
Extension Program and the Agricultural Research Center, including the
International Dairy Goat Center, the first of its kind in the nation.
Dr. Thomas believed that the primary purpose of Prairie View A&M
University was the creation of human capital, with ethical and moral
values, cultural literacy, professional and technical knowledge, skills
and leadership characteristics to enable self-sufficiency, and to
preserve and strengthen our democracy and our free enterprise system.
This philosophy led to the creation of numerous undergraduate and
graduate degrees during his administration. The university’s enrollment
also increased more that 30%. The number of graduates increased from 605
in 1966 to 1135 in 1982. He was especially proud of the establishment
of the Navy ROTC Program, the first and only Navy ROTC unit at a
historically Black university. During his administration, the Prairie
View Naval ROTC commissioned more African-American Naval Officers than
any other university, other than the Naval Academy. Also during his
tenure, the number of Army ROTC officers commissioned rose from 25 per
year to almost 100 per year. It was from this background in November
1973, that Dr. Thomas developed the slogan: “Prairie View Produces
Productive People.”
From 1966 to 1982, twenty-one new honor societies were established in
academic areas throughout the University. In 1969, Dr. Thomas
commissioned a group and established chapters of the social fraternities
and sororities of the National Pan Hellenic Council, including Alpha
Phi Alpha, Kappa Alpha Psi, Omega Psi Phi, Phi Beta Sigma, Alpha Kappa
Alpha, Delta Sigma Theta, Zeta Phi Beta, Sigma Gamma Rho and Iota Phi
Theta, along with the installation of the undergraduate Pan Hellenic
Council. Prior to this time, the students formed social clubs which was
the beginning of these organizations. In 1969, Prairie View A&M
University purchased a franchise in the Miss Texas/Miss America
Scholarship Pageant, the only historically Black university to provide
its students with this opportunity.
Many innovative college and pre-college programs were established from
1966 to 1982. Among these were the Junior Fellow/Senior Fellow Residence
Hall Programs, Student Honor Roll Banquet, the University Without
Walls, the Weekend College for adult students, Experiment-in-Living,
Engineering Concepts Institute, Minority Introductions to Engineering
(MITE), Premedical Concepts Institute, Operation Success, Operation
Vanguard, Project Pride, Century II Book Review, and the Pride of
Prairie View Club to build self-esteem and empower young women, etc.
Additionally, his personable approach to management led to the creation
of the monthly faculty and staff recognition program and monthly
birthday parties for the students.
From 1982-1983, Dr. Thomas served as Executive Vice-President for
Development and in 1983, he became Director, Houston Nursing Facility.
He retired from active service with the University in August 1992. The
University established, and he maintained the Office of
President-Emeritus in the Prairie View A&M University, College of
Nursing Center in the Texas Medical Center.
Dr. Thomas’ altruism extended to the community through his services on
many boards and programs including as a consultant to Dow Chemical
Company, Litton Industries, and Westinghouse Management Service. He
served as a member of the White House Conference on Children and Youth,
the Governor’s Commission on Rural Development, and was active on many
committees and councils of the National Association of State
Universities and Land-Grant Colleges. He was also a leader in the
incorporation of the City of Prairie View in 1968-69. He also founded
and directed the Carver Institute African American Think Thank in 1990
and helped to form the Liberia Cutting Group, Inc. in 2008. He worked in
Liberia, West Africa and helped to restructure the Booker T. Washington
Technical Institute at Kakata, Liberia, established in 1926 by the
Phelp Stokes Fund. He was a member of President George H.W. Bush’s
delegation to observe the election in Namibia, South Africa. In 1973, on
the recommendation of Dr. Doris L. Johnson, Bahamas Senate President,
he established the Prairie View-Bahamas Friendship Scholarship Program
to commemorate the independence of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas,
which resulted in some 200 students receiving degrees from Prairie View
A&M University. Dr. Johnson was the May 1973 commencement speaker.
In 1974, Dr. Thomas was appointed to the Board of Directors of the
Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas (Houston Branch). He served as Chairman
of the Board from 1977-1979.
To commemorate the Centennial Anniversary of the University, Dr. Thomas
established the Centennial Council and organized the university’s first
Capital Campaign culminating with the Centennial Endowment Banquet in
1978, in Houston, Texas. Dr. Thomas is a recipient of many honors
including the Epsilon Pi Tau Laureate Citation for Administrative
Leadership; Distinguished Alumni Award from Kansas State College; Holt
Fellow, Yale University; Distinguished Alumni Award, Ohio State
University; Outstanding Educational Service Medal by The Republic of
Liberia; the Eagle Scout Award, the Boy Scout Silver Beaver Award from
the Texas San Jacinto Council of the Boy Scouts of America Houston; the
Outstanding Civilian Service Medal, the second highest civilian given by
the U.S. Army; and the Distinguished Civilian Service Medal, the
highest civilian award given by the U.S. Department of the Army. He was a
member of Alpha Phi Alpha and Sigma Pi Phi (Nu Boule).
By action of the Board of Regents, The Texas A&M University System,
Dr. Thomas was given the permanent title of President-Emeritus in April
1983. In December 2002, in recognition of his services to Prairie View
A&M University, the Board of Regents named the University
Administration Building the Alvin I. Thomas Building.
Dr. Thomas is survived by his loving and devoted wife Clarissa Gamble
Thomas; Iris Butler Thomas, the mother of his four children: - sons,
Kenneth C. Thomas and Michael D. Thomas (Lark McCarthy); and daughters,
Janet M. Thomas and Julie E. Thomas; his sister Joyce Thomas Mouton,
brother Henry James Thomas (Sadie), and brother Aldon A. Thomas
(Barbara). Other relatives include a host of grandchildren, great
grandchildren, nieces and nephews. His surviving extended family
includes, Mary Bush Johnson, Rosie L. Matlock and Frederick V. Roberts
Esquire; and his church family at St. Mary of the Purification Church,
Rosedale at Ennis.
Dr. Thomas was funeralized on October 5 at the St. Mary of the
Purification Catholic Church on 3006 Rosedale Street and is entombed at
All Saints Mausoleum, Metairie Cemetery, 5100 Pontchartrain Boulevard,
New Orleans, Louisiana 70124.
Friends of may continue his legacy of service and academic achievement
with contributions to the Dr. Alvin I. Thomas Memorial Endowment at
Prairie View A&M University, Office of Development, P.O. Box: 519
M.S. 1200, Prairie View, TX 77446 . For information call (936) 261-1550
or email: development@pvamu.edu.
