Thomas College
Encyclopedia
Thomas College is a small, liberal arts college
located in Waterville, Maine
, U.S.
It was founded in 1894 as a non-sectarian, co-educational college dedicated to career training. Thomas specializes in business
, education
, and technology
. Thomas offers undergraduate and graduate
degrees and is accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges
.
River and includes well-maintained athletic fields. The Campus consists of about a dozen buildings in close proximity to one another, including nine residence halls.
The majority of campus facilities are constructed of mostly brick masonry
. Campus facilities include the Main Academic and Administration Building, the Laurette Ayotte Auditorium, Grant, Parks, and Heath Residence Halls, The Student Center, The Alumni House, two "Village" Residence Halls, Bartlett Residence Hall, The Harold Alfond Athletic Center, and three "Townhouse" residence halls. Most classes are held in the Main Administration Building, which conveniently houses the library, the Larry Mahaney Gymnasium, The Ayotte Auditorium and the college bookstore.
All buildings on campus are easily accessible within walking distance for students. Future plans call for the landscape redesign of the main road to form a "ring" around the campus, transforming the center of campus into pedestrian walkways while expanding the "campus green."
In 1911, A Peterborough, N.H. railroad administrator, John L. Thomas Sr., who himself was a business college graduate, purchased the college and renamed it Morgan-Thomas Business College. For half a century the College trained accountants and secretaries and gained an excellent reputation.
In 1950, the college was renamed Thomas Junior College and in 1956 the college moved from Main Street to the former home of John Ware on Silver Street, which was known as one of Waterville's largest and finest estates. There the college used two buildings--one for administrative offices, library and classrooms, and the other was redesigned for a women's dormitory, dining room, store and student lounge. John. L. Thomas Jr was named President.
The 1960s was a decade of significant growth and development for Thomas College. A men's dormitory was dedicated and in 1962 a new classroom building opened. Thomas Junior College was renamed Thomas College. In 1963, the Maine State Legislature granted Thomas the right to confer four-year degrees and in 1964 the Mariner Library, named after Chairman of the Thomas College Board of Trustees, Ernest C. Mariner, was opened. In 1965 a theater for lectures and dramatic presentations was constructed, but towards the end of the decade, the college had outgrown its Silver Street campus.
In 1966 it purchased more than 70 acres (283,280.2 m²) of land next to the historic Kennebec River and developed a small-college facility. Construction consisted of the Main Administration and Academic Building including the Mahaney Gymnasium, the Grant, Parks and Heath residence Halls (GPH), and The Student Center. By this time, the entire college was relocated to the West River Road campus. The Village apartments for upperclassmen was constructed in 1972. Since then, the number of campus facilities has nearly doubled with the addition of the Laurette Ayotte Auditorium in 2000, Bartlett Hall in 2003, the Harold Alfond Athletic Center in 2006 the Townhouses in 2008, The Welcome Center in 2010, and a Student Commons renovation and Dining Hall expansion in 2011.
Just like in the 1960s, Thomas College saw tremendous growth and development in the 2000s, adding several programs of study, facilities, and one of the largest campaigns in the College's history. The "Thomas Challenge: Guaranteeing the Future" campaign was launched in 2004 and was a push to fund the Harold Alfond Athletic Center and scholarships and endowment.
In 2007 the College purchased an additional 26 acres (105,218.4 m²) acres connected to the south end of the campus to support future growth.
In May 2010, the College installed 36 230-watt solar panels on the administration building to help offset the costs of electricity and to further the College's goals on sustainability
.
In March 2011 The Harold Alfond
Foundation announced a commitment of $5 million dollars that will support the construction of the Harold Alfond Academic Center and the establishment of the Harold and Bibby Alfond Scholarship Fund at Thomas College. This commitment is the largest single gift in the history of the College. The College also unveiled the campus master plan which outlines plans for campus growth with construction of a dozen new buildings including the Harold Alfond Academic Center, five new residence halls, and another field house in addition to new athletic fields. The campus master plan is organized into four phases, all driven by student enrollment growth. Part of phase one was completed in 2010 and 2011 with the addition of The Welcome Center in the Main Administration Building, renovation of some classrooms, and renovation of The Student Center, including expansion and redesign of the dining commons. The remaining part of phase one includes construction of a new residence hall and an expansion of locker rooms at the Larry Mahaney Gymnasium.
Today, Thomas College adheres to its mission of preparing quality graduates for careers in a variety of fields. The college is consistently nationally recognized for its Guaranteed Job Placement Program and individualized attention at both the undergraduate and graduate levels.
"Those we serve are the foundation of our future"
Thomas College prepares students for success in their personal and professional lives, and for leadership and service in their communities. Thomas provides a supportive learning environment that values the needs and goals of individual students. At Thomas, students discover and fulfill their unique potential. Each program at the College promotes professional excellence, informed by ethics and integrity.
Thomas aspires to be a regional leader in business and liberal arts education. The College is committed to quality teaching and to the application of technology at both the graduate and undergraduate levels. Thomas offers broad opportunities for professional development, and promotes economic prosperity through long-term community partnerships.
The college offers the following degrees:
The College mascot is a terrier nicknamed "Tommy" which appears at sporting and other public events.
Grant, Parks and Heath (GPH) Halls are the underclassmen residential hall complex and the oldest residence halls on campus. These three halls house over 200 students and are connected by a central lobby which contains the security office, a 24-hour computer lab, a recreation room, vending machines, and a kitchen. The Health Center is located on the first floor of Grant Hall and is open weekdays for all students. The entrances to Grant, Parks, and Heath Halls are locked by a key-card system, which means that all students must use their access card to gain entry to the buildings. Most rooms in Grant, Parks, and Heath are double occupancy with a few designated single and triple rooms. Most first-year students live in GPH, while upperclassmen are permitted to lottery into the buildings based on space availability.
The Village hosts apartment-style rooms for upperclassmen. Each room contains direct access to the outdoors and each has a bathroom and sink along the back wall. The Village rooms are designed for double or triple occupancy, housing up to 112 students. The Village consists of two-single story buildings. The mailboxes for residents are located in Bartlett Hall.
Bartlett Hall offers suite-style rooms for upperclassmen on three floors. Suites are organized into five, six, or seven-person living arrangements with one or two bathrooms, respectively. Each floor contains a study area. The first floor contains a computer lab, a meeting room, full kitchen, mailboxes, a lounge with a television, and laundry facilities. Bartlett Hall houses 100 students.
The Townhouses offer private entrances, shared common areas as well as double and single living quarters. The Townhouse residences house 88 students and consist of three two-story buildings located on the north-end of campus, behind the Alfond Athletic Center and the Ayotte Auditorium.
All on-campus housing is equipped to provide students with wireless Internet, wired Internet ports and cable television service.
The Guaranteed Job Placement program (or G-Job) is the only one of its kind in the nation. No other college or university in America offers this type of job placement guarantee. If students don’t secure employment in their field of study within six months after graduation, they can return to Thomas and take more classes or the College will pay the monthly federally subsidized student loans that were incurred while attending Thomas for up to one year or until you get a job. All of this applies if the student achieves goals set by the school, for instance in order to qualify for G-job, the student may not ever incur a grade in any course less than a C. They must also maintain an average GPA of 2.8 or higher. All inquiries about the requirements for G-job can be retrieved through the SFS office located in the front of the administration building.
In addition, if students are employed within six months following graduation but the position is not within their field of study (for whatever reason), they may take an unlimited number of tuition-free undergraduate courses for up to two years or up to six tuition-free graduate courses at Thomas while working toward an M.B.A. degree.
44°31′27.64"N 69°39′48.49"W
College
A college is an educational institution or a constituent part of an educational institution. Usage varies in English-speaking nations...
located in Waterville, Maine
Waterville, Maine
Waterville is a city in Kennebec County, Maine, United States, on the west bank of the Kennebec River. The population was 15,722 at the 2010 census. Home to Colby College and Thomas College, Waterville is the regional commercial, medical and cultural center....
, U.S.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
It was founded in 1894 as a non-sectarian, co-educational college dedicated to career training. Thomas specializes in business
Business
A business is an organization engaged in the trade of goods, services, or both to consumers. Businesses are predominant in capitalist economies, where most of them are privately owned and administered to earn profit to increase the wealth of their owners. Businesses may also be not-for-profit...
, education
Education
Education in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...
, and technology
Technology
Technology is the making, usage, and knowledge of tools, machines, techniques, crafts, systems or methods of organization in order to solve a problem or perform a specific function. It can also refer to the collection of such tools, machinery, and procedures. The word technology comes ;...
. Thomas offers undergraduate and graduate
Graduate school
A graduate school is a school that awards advanced academic degrees with the general requirement that students must have earned a previous undergraduate degree...
degrees and is accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges
New England Association of Schools and Colleges
The New England Association of Schools and Colleges, Inc. is the U.S. regional accreditation association providing educational accreditation for all levels of education, from pre-kindergarten to the doctoral level, in the six-state New England region. It also provides accreditation for some...
.
Mission
Thomas College's mission is to prepare students for success in their personal and professional lives, and for leadership and service in their communities. The private, career-oriented College is committed to preparing its undergraduates for careers in business, technology and education. Over 90 percent of Thomas graduates are hired in their field of study within 90 days of graduation. The College guarantees employment in a student's chosen field of study through its Guaranteed Job Placement Program.The Campus
The College campus is located on 120 acres of woods and fields on West River Road along the historic KennebecKennebec
Kennebec can refer to:*Kennebec County, Maine*Kennebec, South Dakota*Kennebec River*Kennebec tribe...
River and includes well-maintained athletic fields. The Campus consists of about a dozen buildings in close proximity to one another, including nine residence halls.
The majority of campus facilities are constructed of mostly brick masonry
Masonry
Masonry is the building of structures from individual units laid in and bound together by mortar; the term masonry can also refer to the units themselves. The common materials of masonry construction are brick, stone, marble, granite, travertine, limestone; concrete block, glass block, stucco, and...
. Campus facilities include the Main Academic and Administration Building, the Laurette Ayotte Auditorium, Grant, Parks, and Heath Residence Halls, The Student Center, The Alumni House, two "Village" Residence Halls, Bartlett Residence Hall, The Harold Alfond Athletic Center, and three "Townhouse" residence halls. Most classes are held in the Main Administration Building, which conveniently houses the library, the Larry Mahaney Gymnasium, The Ayotte Auditorium and the college bookstore.
All buildings on campus are easily accessible within walking distance for students. Future plans call for the landscape redesign of the main road to form a "ring" around the campus, transforming the center of campus into pedestrian walkways while expanding the "campus green."
History
Thomas College has a long history in Waterville, Maine, beginning in 1894 when it was founded as a nonsectarian, co-educational college dedicated to career training. It was founded as Keist Business College and was located on three floors above the F.W. Woolworth Co. in the Edith Building on Main Street in Waterville. The building remains downtown to this day. At the turn of the century, Keist Business College saw a growing reputation for coeducational career training and was purchased by Willam Morgan. It was renamed Morgan Business College in 1896.In 1911, A Peterborough, N.H. railroad administrator, John L. Thomas Sr., who himself was a business college graduate, purchased the college and renamed it Morgan-Thomas Business College. For half a century the College trained accountants and secretaries and gained an excellent reputation.
In 1950, the college was renamed Thomas Junior College and in 1956 the college moved from Main Street to the former home of John Ware on Silver Street, which was known as one of Waterville's largest and finest estates. There the college used two buildings--one for administrative offices, library and classrooms, and the other was redesigned for a women's dormitory, dining room, store and student lounge. John. L. Thomas Jr was named President.
The 1960s was a decade of significant growth and development for Thomas College. A men's dormitory was dedicated and in 1962 a new classroom building opened. Thomas Junior College was renamed Thomas College. In 1963, the Maine State Legislature granted Thomas the right to confer four-year degrees and in 1964 the Mariner Library, named after Chairman of the Thomas College Board of Trustees, Ernest C. Mariner, was opened. In 1965 a theater for lectures and dramatic presentations was constructed, but towards the end of the decade, the college had outgrown its Silver Street campus.
In 1966 it purchased more than 70 acres (283,280.2 m²) of land next to the historic Kennebec River and developed a small-college facility. Construction consisted of the Main Administration and Academic Building including the Mahaney Gymnasium, the Grant, Parks and Heath residence Halls (GPH), and The Student Center. By this time, the entire college was relocated to the West River Road campus. The Village apartments for upperclassmen was constructed in 1972. Since then, the number of campus facilities has nearly doubled with the addition of the Laurette Ayotte Auditorium in 2000, Bartlett Hall in 2003, the Harold Alfond Athletic Center in 2006 the Townhouses in 2008, The Welcome Center in 2010, and a Student Commons renovation and Dining Hall expansion in 2011.
Just like in the 1960s, Thomas College saw tremendous growth and development in the 2000s, adding several programs of study, facilities, and one of the largest campaigns in the College's history. The "Thomas Challenge: Guaranteeing the Future" campaign was launched in 2004 and was a push to fund the Harold Alfond Athletic Center and scholarships and endowment.
In 2007 the College purchased an additional 26 acres (105,218.4 m²) acres connected to the south end of the campus to support future growth.
In May 2010, the College installed 36 230-watt solar panels on the administration building to help offset the costs of electricity and to further the College's goals on sustainability
Sustainability
Sustainability is the capacity to endure. For humans, sustainability is the long-term maintenance of well being, which has environmental, economic, and social dimensions, and encompasses the concept of union, an interdependent relationship and mutual responsible position with all living and non...
.
In March 2011 The Harold Alfond
Harold Alfond
Harold Alfond was an American businessman who founded the Dexter Shoe Company and established the first factory outlet store.-Early life:...
Foundation announced a commitment of $5 million dollars that will support the construction of the Harold Alfond Academic Center and the establishment of the Harold and Bibby Alfond Scholarship Fund at Thomas College. This commitment is the largest single gift in the history of the College. The College also unveiled the campus master plan which outlines plans for campus growth with construction of a dozen new buildings including the Harold Alfond Academic Center, five new residence halls, and another field house in addition to new athletic fields. The campus master plan is organized into four phases, all driven by student enrollment growth. Part of phase one was completed in 2010 and 2011 with the addition of The Welcome Center in the Main Administration Building, renovation of some classrooms, and renovation of The Student Center, including expansion and redesign of the dining commons. The remaining part of phase one includes construction of a new residence hall and an expansion of locker rooms at the Larry Mahaney Gymnasium.
Today, Thomas College adheres to its mission of preparing quality graduates for careers in a variety of fields. The college is consistently nationally recognized for its Guaranteed Job Placement Program and individualized attention at both the undergraduate and graduate levels.
Vision and values
The Mission and Vision for Thomas College:"Those we serve are the foundation of our future"
Thomas College prepares students for success in their personal and professional lives, and for leadership and service in their communities. Thomas provides a supportive learning environment that values the needs and goals of individual students. At Thomas, students discover and fulfill their unique potential. Each program at the College promotes professional excellence, informed by ethics and integrity.
Thomas aspires to be a regional leader in business and liberal arts education. The College is committed to quality teaching and to the application of technology at both the graduate and undergraduate levels. Thomas offers broad opportunities for professional development, and promotes economic prosperity through long-term community partnerships.
Academics
Academic programs focus on career-specific and liberal arts degrees. The most popular majors are: Accounting, Criminal Justice, Elementary Education, Sports Management, Psychology, and Information Technology. The school places a strong focus on small class sizes through a student to faculty ratio of 15:1.The college offers the following degrees:
- Associate in Science
- Associate in Arts
- Bachelor of Science with majors and concentrations in accounting, business, communications, computer technology, criminal justice, education, finance, general studies, management, political science/pre-law, psychology and sports management
- Bachelor of Arts with majors and concentrations in political science, psychology, forensics, pre-law, English, general studies, and liberal arts
- Master of Business Administration
- Accelerated Master of Business Administration
- Master of Science in Education
Athletics
The College competes at the NCAA Division III Level in 12 intercollegiate sports and is a member institution in the North Atlantic Conference (NAC). The Athletics Department currently sponsors Baseball, Softball, Men's and Women's Basketball, Field Hockey, Men's Golf, Men's and Women's Lacrosse, Men's and Women's Soccer, Men's Tennis and Women's Volleyball. The school also sponsors Club Sports in Men's Ice Hockey.The College mascot is a terrier nicknamed "Tommy" which appears at sporting and other public events.
Primary campus buildings
- Administration & Classroom Building houses most classrooms and computer labs, admissions, administrative and faculty offices as well as the library and bookstore
- Dining Center/Student Center contains dining facilities, T-Bones grill, atrium lounge, ATM and mailboxes for Grant, Parks and Heath (GPH) Halls
- Laurette Ayotte Auditorium is a high tech 300-seat structure which also houses two technology-driven classrooms
- Larry Mahaney Gymnasium is an NCAA regulation size athletics facility
- Harold Alfond Athletic Center is a 38000 square feet (3,530.3 m²) facility which includes a multi-sport, three court surface (striped for basketball, tennis and volleyball), an indoor track, lacrosse ball-wall, plyometrics room, locker rooms, fitness center, multipurpose room and lounge area
- Alumni House hosts the Alumni Office and the Office of Institutional Advancement
Residence Halls
The College offers 9 residence halls, including traditional double occupancy rooms, suite-style living arrangements, and townhouse apartment-style complexes. About 500 students (or roughly 60 percent) of Thomas undergraduates live on campus, with a small number of graduate students choosing to live on campus. All returning students wishing to live on campus must participate in the housing lottery held every spring. Room selections are based on lottery numbers assigned by class year.Grant, Parks and Heath (GPH) Halls are the underclassmen residential hall complex and the oldest residence halls on campus. These three halls house over 200 students and are connected by a central lobby which contains the security office, a 24-hour computer lab, a recreation room, vending machines, and a kitchen. The Health Center is located on the first floor of Grant Hall and is open weekdays for all students. The entrances to Grant, Parks, and Heath Halls are locked by a key-card system, which means that all students must use their access card to gain entry to the buildings. Most rooms in Grant, Parks, and Heath are double occupancy with a few designated single and triple rooms. Most first-year students live in GPH, while upperclassmen are permitted to lottery into the buildings based on space availability.
The Village hosts apartment-style rooms for upperclassmen. Each room contains direct access to the outdoors and each has a bathroom and sink along the back wall. The Village rooms are designed for double or triple occupancy, housing up to 112 students. The Village consists of two-single story buildings. The mailboxes for residents are located in Bartlett Hall.
Bartlett Hall offers suite-style rooms for upperclassmen on three floors. Suites are organized into five, six, or seven-person living arrangements with one or two bathrooms, respectively. Each floor contains a study area. The first floor contains a computer lab, a meeting room, full kitchen, mailboxes, a lounge with a television, and laundry facilities. Bartlett Hall houses 100 students.
The Townhouses offer private entrances, shared common areas as well as double and single living quarters. The Townhouse residences house 88 students and consist of three two-story buildings located on the north-end of campus, behind the Alfond Athletic Center and the Ayotte Auditorium.
All on-campus housing is equipped to provide students with wireless Internet, wired Internet ports and cable television service.
Information technology
Almost all of the campus floorspace and a substantial amount of outdoor area is covered by an 802.11g wireless network. Laptop computers are recommended for all incoming students, and the College has a special arrangement with Dell Computers for discounted laptop purchases. The Services Desk is located in the Library and provides technology assistance for all students, faculty and staff.Special features
Unique in colleges across America: Students who graduate from Thomas College with a bachelor’s in arts or sciences are eligible for the Guaranteed Job Placement Program, which guarantees students a job in their field of study.The Guaranteed Job Placement program (or G-Job) is the only one of its kind in the nation. No other college or university in America offers this type of job placement guarantee. If students don’t secure employment in their field of study within six months after graduation, they can return to Thomas and take more classes or the College will pay the monthly federally subsidized student loans that were incurred while attending Thomas for up to one year or until you get a job. All of this applies if the student achieves goals set by the school, for instance in order to qualify for G-job, the student may not ever incur a grade in any course less than a C. They must also maintain an average GPA of 2.8 or higher. All inquiries about the requirements for G-job can be retrieved through the SFS office located in the front of the administration building.
In addition, if students are employed within six months following graduation but the position is not within their field of study (for whatever reason), they may take an unlimited number of tuition-free undergraduate courses for up to two years or up to six tuition-free graduate courses at Thomas while working toward an M.B.A. degree.
External links
44°31′27.64"N 69°39′48.49"W