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New Job for Former WIU President Jack Thomas

Dr. Jack Thomas in the WIU preisdent's office in August, 2016
Rich Egger
Dr. Jack Thomas in the WIU preisdent's office in August, 2016

Central State University in Wilberforce, Ohio announced it hired Dr. Jack Thomas to serve as the ninth president in school history. Central State is a public, historically black university with an enrollment of 2,100.

Thomas stepped down as Western’s president at the end of June, 2019, ending an eight-year presidency marred by employee layoffs, declining student enrollment, and increasing tensions between the administration and faculty.

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Under terms of his negotiated departure with WIU, Thomas agreed to spend one year on paid administrative leave and one year on sabbatical.  Western agreed to pay his full $270,528 salary in each of those years.

He then had the option of returning to the classroom as a professor of English.

A university spokesperson told TSPR that Western’s legal counsel is reviewing the terms of the deal to determine the school’s future obligations to Thomas now that he has accepted another job.

Thomas came to Western in January 2008 to serve as provost.  His previous job was at Middle Tennessee State University – Murfreesboro, where he served as senior vice provost for academic affairs, interim dean of the College of Continuing Education and Distance Learning, and professor of English.

WIU Presidency Still Vacant

Western hired Dr. Martin Abraham of Youngstown State University to serve as provost beginning July 1, 2019. But Abraham was appointed acting president when Thomas stepped down.

Dr. Martin Abraham (right) speaking with reporters in January, 2020.
Credit Rich Egger
Dr. Martin Abraham (right) speaking with reporters in January, 2020.

The Board of Trustees voted in early October to name Abraham interim president.

But in December the BoT declined to remove the word “interim” from Abraham’s title. The board deadlocked 4-4 on a motion to name Abraham president.

Trustees then voted 8-0 to form a 23 member committee to conduct a national search for Western’s next president. The committee will include members from both the Macomb and Quad Cities campuses. It will be allowed to spend up to $250,000.

The search could take 12 to 18 months.

Trustees encouraged Abraham to apply.

Copyright 2020 Tri States Public Radio

Rich is the News Director at Tri States Public Radio. Rich grew up in the northwest suburbs of Chicago but now calls Macomb home. Rich has a B.A in Communication Studies with an Emphasis on Radio, TV, and Film from Northern Illinois University. Rich came to love radio in high school where he developed his “news nerdiness” as he calls it. Rich’s high school had a radio station called WFVH, which he worked at for a couple years. In college, Rich worked at campus station WKDI for three years, spinning tunes and serving at various times as General Manager, Music Director and Operations Manager. Before being hired as Tri States Public Radio’s news director in 1998, Rich worked professionally in news at WRMN-AM/WJKL-FM in Elgin and WJBC-AM in Bloomington. In Rich’s leisure time he loves music, books, cross-country skiing, rooting for the Cubs and Blackhawks, and baking sugar frosted chocolate bombs. His future plans include “getting some tacos.”
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