Research Interests
disability advocacyhigher education
Opportunities
Work Study Positions Available: No
Grant Funded Positions Available: No
Course-Credit Research Opportunities Available: No
Volunteer Research Positions Available: No
Biography
Dr. Thomas earned his undergraduate degree in Individualized Integrative Studies in Dramaturgy with a minor in Criminal Justice from Old Dominion University, where he also earned an M.A. in Applied Linguistics with an emphasis in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) as well as a Ph.D. in Higher Education. He has completed additional graduate work at the Linguistic Society of America Summer Institute at Stanford University, the Institute on Disability at Temple University, and through the Public Policy and Administration Program at West Chester University.
Dr. Thomas has been in the field of disability advocacy in higher education for more than a decade. He serves as the President of Delta Alpha Pi International Honor Society, which recognizes high achieving college students with disabilities and serves the wider disability community as the Treasurer for Disability Rights Pennsylvania, where he also chairs the Mental Health Advisory Council. Prior to coming to WCU and alongside his disability work, Dr. Thomas was a member of the English faculties at universities in and around Philadelphia, Southeastern Virginia, and Seattle, teaching courses in English Composition and Rhetoric, English as a Second Language, Linguistics, and Research Methods.
