Texas A&M At Galveston Chief Academic Officer Named

Texas A&M University at Galveston will welcome Deborah Thomas as its chief academic officer beginning Aug. 22.

A professor of oceanography, Thomas previously served as department head in oceanography and dean of the Texas A&M College of Geosciences, which has been merged with the new College of Arts and Sciences.

Thomas joined the university as an assistant professor in 2004. Her 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. Her work relies on sea floor samples collected through the International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP).  She has led international research teams through IODP, most recently as co-chief scientist of IODP Expedition 378 in the South Pacific (January-February 2020).

She received her Ph.D. in geological sciences, a master’s degree in marine sciences from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and a bachelor’s degree in geological sciences from Brown University. She is a Fellow of the Geological Society of America.

Thomas will assume the role from Antonietta Quigg who has served as interim associate vice president for academic affairs, associate provost, and chief academic officer at the Galveston campus over the previous 18 months. Quigg will continue to serve as senior associate vice president for research and graduate studies.