Deborah Thomas was named the chief academic officer at Texas A&M University-Galveston. She began her new job on Augut 22.
Dr. Thomas joined the university as an assistant professor in 2004. She is now a full professor of oceanography. Dr. Thomas previously served as department head in oceanography from 2013 to 2016. She was named interim dean of the Texas A&M College of Geosciences in 2016 and dean in 2019. The college has since been merged with the new College of Arts and Sciences.
Professor Thomas’ research applies the chemical composition of marine sediments toward the reconstruction of past climate, with a particular interest in the climate dynamics of globally warm periods of time in Earth’s history.
Professor Thomas is a graduate of Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, where she majored in geological and earth sciences. She earned a master’s degree in marine science and a Ph.D. in geological and earth sciences at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.