Maddy QuonKen Thomas, the associate dean for the Capstone for the Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College, is leaving the University of Mississippi. He has accepted a new position at Harvard University, where he will be the assistant dean of Harvard College, the Allston Burr Resident Dean of Cabot House, Lecturer in Environmental Science and Engineering and an Affiliate Fellow of the Harvard University Center for the Environment.
Thomas, who received his Ph.D. in Civil Engineering with a concentration in environmental and water resource sustainability from the University of South Florida, came to the University of Mississippi from Auburn University’s Honors College.
Thomas started working at UM in May 2020 just as the Oxford campus closed down. Honors College Dean Douglass Sullivan-Gonzalez wrote in an email addressed to all honors students that while Thomas has only worked at the university for a year, he had made a huge impact on the academic community despite working remotely.
“(Thomas) worked tirelessly to create novel pathways for our juniors and seniors when so many faculty laboratories closed down due to the virus, and he led the SMBHC in the creation of the Honors Project, a third pathway to complete the capstone experience,” Sullivan-Gonzalez wrote.
While the Honors College is looking for a replacement for Thomas, associate deans John Samonds and Jennifer Parsons will be advising upcoming seniors for their Capstone Experience.
Thomas was not able to be reached before publication.
