President's Biography

Ronald R. Thomas assumed his responsibilities as Puget Sound's thirteenth president on July 16, 2003. In announcing his appointment, then Board Chair William T. Weyerhaeuser said, "Ron Thomas is an outstanding choice to lead Puget Sound at this time in the school's history. He clearly understands Puget Sound's commitment to its liberal arts mission, and he demonstrates the skills needed to advance the university's strength and reputation within American higher education."

Now in his fifth year as president, Thomas has led the university community in three critical planning efforts to accomplish these goals: a 20-year master plan aimed at making the most of Puget Sound's intimate, inviting, and inspiring campus; a strategic plan of action for the next decade that will position the university as a national leader in liberal arts education; and preparations for an ambitious comprehensive capital campaign to realize these objectives.

"Defining Moments" is the university's strategic plan, designed to position Puget Sound as the nation's premier liberal arts institution embodying the Pacific Northwest experience, combining a commitment to academic excellence with civic engagement, environmental responsibility, and a global focus. "A Tapestry of Learning" (as the master plan is called) will unify Puget Sound's beautiful campus, weaving together a distinctive physical plant with the university's excellent academic programs while connecting it more fully with the immediate neighborhood and larger region.

In addition to building a strong foundation for the future, President Thomas came to Puget Sound strongly committed to the idea that good scholarship and good citizenship go hand in hand and that Puget Sound's distinctive learning environment, vibrant community, outstanding students, and dedicated faculty offer the opportunity to provide national leadership in this area. The university's widely acclaimed civic scholarship initiative along with its pioneering work in environmental sustainability and its inauguration of the first national conference on race and pedagogy in September of 2006 are the initial manifestations of this commitment.

Under Thomas's leadership, the University of Puget Sound was named in 2007 the nation's number one producer of Peace Corps volunteers for universities its size and, in 2006, a top-ten producer of Fulbright Scholars for baccalaureate colleges. In 2007, Puget Sound equaled the highest number of Watson Fellowships awarded to any college for that year and was honored with its fourth Washington State Professor of the Year award from the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching (for Nancy Bristow in History), more than any other independent college in the state of Washington. For each year of Thomas's presidency the university has also recorded new records in admission, academic achievement, retention, and fundraising.

Thomas brings to these efforts a long record of leadership in higher education. Prior to coming to Puget Sound, he was a faculty member at the University of Chicago, Harvard University and Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut. At Trinity, Ron also served as college vice president and as acting president, leading the implementation of Trinity's master plan and its nationally recognized engagement with the community. He has been widely honored for his achievements, including being named a Mellon Faculty Fellow in the Humanities at Harvard University, receiving Trinity College's Dean Arthur A. Hughes Award for distinguished teaching achievement, and being granted an honorary doctorate from Trinity in recognition of his contributions to higher education as "an insightful scholar, masterful teacher [and] skillful administrator."

Thomas is an expert in Victorian literature and culture and the author of numerous scholarly publications, including chapters for more than a dozen books. Dr. Thomas has also written three books in a wide range of subjects, including Detective Fiction and the Rise of Forensic Science and Dreams of Authority: Freud and the Fictions of the Unconscious. He is at work on a fourth, Specters of the Novel, which explores the relationship between the Victorian novel and the invention of the cinema. He currently serves on the board of directors for the American Council on Education and the Arts Fund of Pierce County.

A native of New Jersey, Ron Thomas is an avid athlete, sports fan and traveler. His wife, Mary, a Seattle native, was an admired administrator and faculty member at Trinity College for 14 years, serving most recently as dean of students and lecturer in classics. Mary currently serves on the board of directors for the Museum of Glass, the Northwest Sinfonietta, and the Tacoma Public Library Foundation. Mary and Ron live on campus in the president's house.