Brian Thomas Email and Phone Number

-Direct oversight of the Cardinal Student Success Center, Undergraduate Research Program, Office of International Programs, and Study Abroad Office. -Higher Learning Commission Accreditation Liaison Officer. -Chair of the Curriculum and Academic Policies Committee. -Chair of the Student Success Advisory Council. -Member of the Strategic Enrollment Management Team. -Member of the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Council, co-chair of the Leadership Institute Development team, and co-chair of the Diverse Student Recruitment and Retention team. -Past chair of the SVSU Higher Learning Commission Student Success Academy Team. -Principal Investigator for the Pathways to Rural Student Success, a $1.2 million grant from the Department of Education.-Past member of the negotiating team for the 2022 Support Staff Union Contract-Chair or member of numerous search committees, including serving as an inclusion advocate. Chaired searches include the Associate Provost and Dean of Students, Executive Director of Institutional Effectiveness, Director of Academic Advising, Writing Center Director, Study Abroad Coordinator, and multiple faculty searches.-Coordinated the development and implementation of the Changchun Normal University-SVSU Early Childhood Education Program, which is a program approved by the Ministry of Education in China and involves approximately 400 students each year.-Prior oversight of the Registrar’s Office.-Prior oversight of the Center for Community Engagement and Experiential Learning.

As a professor of sociology, I primarily taught global cultures, statistics, and environmental sociology. I have also worked with the Saginaw community around food security issues and regularly led trips to China.

-Oversight of student academic units including the Writing Center, Math and Physics Resource Center, the Center for Academic Achievement, and the Center for Community Engagement and Experiential Learning. This involved management of 5 directors who oversee staffing and budgets for tutoring centers, study abroad, and community engagement activities for all students at the university.-Co-chair of the Retention Council. This is the university-level task force charged with increasing student retention and graduation rates.-Chair of the General Education Committee. This is one of three university-level curriculum committees and is charged with general education curriculum approvals and assessment.-Coordination of the Programs of Distinction. These are programs targeting high achieving students including the Honors Program and Undergraduate Research Program.-Member of the Strategic Enrollment Management Team. This is a university-level team that coordinates student recruiting, admission, and retention at the university.-Member of the SVSU Higher Learning Commission Student Success Academy Team. This is a team of faculty and administrators who have been selected to by part of the HLC Student Success Academy. This was a 3 year process that culminated in 2022 with a Student Success Plan for the university.-Member of the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Council and co-chair of the Leadership Institute Development team. This team conducted listening sessions, analyzed survey data, and created a leadership development program and employee resource groups to help diversify leadership at the institution.-Coordinator of SVSU’s participation in the MiTransfer Pathways program which created 11 different community college to university transfer pathways involving all state community colleges and public universities.-Managed the student grade grievances process.-Chair or member of numerous search committees, including serving as an inclusion advocate.

-Served as SVSU’s primary liaison for all international university relationships.-Developed and negotiated international articulation agreements for SVSU, including a dual-degree program in Early Childhood Education that was approved by the Chinese Ministry of Education with an intake of approximately 100 students/year for 7 years.-Coordinated all international student exchange programs.-Coordinated and led trips to maintain current and develop new partnerships. I have coordinated approximately two dozen trips to educational partnerships in South Korea, Japan, Taiwan, China, Barbados, Ghana, Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, and Ireland. -Managed all international visiting guest scholars, including scholars from Shikoku University, Jinan University, Shanghai Normal University, Shenyang Aerospace University, and Ming Chuan University. Approximately ten guest scholars came to SVSU each year.-Coordinated short-term, non-credit programs for international students along with the International Study Abroad Advisor. Activities include supervising 6 student employees, budget management, marketing, and coordinating programming with colleges and departments. From 2014 to 2019, almost 300 international students participated in these programs that involve faculty and staff from three colleges.-Coordinated all aspects of the Study Abroad Office along with the Study Abroad Coordinator. Activities include supervising 2 to 4 student employees, budget management, marketing, and trip coordination for all faculty-led, university exchange, and 3rd party trips. From 2014-2019, nearly 800 students studied abroad to at least 23 countries.-Coordinated SVSU Programs of Distinction. This involves working with 12 program coordinators of programs ranging from the Honors Program to special endowed programs, to manage strategic planning and assessment.

I act as liaison between the President's office at SVSU and Ming Chuan University, Taiwan assisting with program development and implementation.

As a graduate student I worked on two projects. The first examined historical landuse pattern in Southwestern Michigan and was funded by an NSF grant. The second was a project examining the viability of a community supported agricultural system in a low-income neighborhood in Lansing, MI and was funded by the Food Stamp Nutrition Education Program.

As a masters student at the University of Oregon, I received an EPA STAR fellowship that allowed me to study Chinese Ecological Agriculture in Zhejiang Province, China.

I constructed 3D computer models of proteins based on amino acid sequences and assisted with editing of English documents.