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An Introduction:
President Dene Kay Thomas
Dene K. Thomas was appointed President of Lewis-Clark State College by the
Idaho State Board of Education in July 2001. She brings a unique blend of leadership
experience, academic excellence, and community service to an institution that embodies a
unique collaboration of traditional liberal arts programs, professional and technical
training, and community support activities.Dr. Thomas earned her baccalaureate degree in Literature, with a Secondary Education
Certificate in English, from Southwest State University, Minnesota, in 1978. She received
her Ph.D. in English at the University of Minnesota in 1984. She completed Bryn
Mawr’s Women in Higher Education Administration program in 1990. She is no stranger
to the challenges faced by non-traditional students, having raised three children prior to
entering the academic establishment, where she has risen rapidly to the peak of her
profession.
Her most recent post, prior to assuming the presidency of LCSC, was as the Vice Provost
for Academic Affairs at the University of Idaho, having worked her way up through the
ranks as a teacher, department chair, and dean. Her remarkable hands-on success in running
the key operations at one of Idaho’s premier institutions of higher education, and
her contributions to the growth of that program, were key factors in her being entrusted
to lead Lewis-Clark into the 21st Century.
Her impressive list of publications, academic accolades, and accomplishments as a
teacher, administrator, and leader is too voluminous to cover here. But, there is probably
no greater tribute that can be paid to her leadership at the helm of LCSC this last year
than the way she has forged the college into a highly effective team, stepping in to take
the reins in a period of fiscal cutbacks and nation-wide and state-wide turbulence. She
has put LCSC on the leading edge of institutions in the state in grappling with the
current fiscal challenges—a real role model for the higher education institutions in
Idaho. Her focus on teamwork, educational excellence, and commitment to our community are
guiding Lewis-Clark State College to a very bright future.
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