University of Central Florida Graduate Student,

Nonprofit Financial Management

"Dr. Thomas is the first professor I've had who genuinely cares about his students. Contrary to most other courses where online assignments are "busy work,' every assignment in his course was useful. He provided personalized feedback, encouraged us every week, and even made changes to the syllabus to help us succeed. Before taking this class, I thought that nonprofit financial management was boring and difficult. Thanks to Dr. Thomas, now I like financial management and want to keep learning about it. I cannot thank the professor enough for making such a positive impact on my life and the lives of my classmates."

Florida State University

Graduate Student,

Public Marketing & Branding

"I am a President & CEO of a medium sized chamber of commerce. I was able to use this course to build a Strategic Marketing Plan for the chamber. This course was directly applicable to my position and has proven valuable to my organization. I appreciate that Dr. Thomas uses timely information in his lectures to engage his students and his passion, for whatever he is teaching, comes through. This is the third course I've had the pleasure of having with him and it did NOT disappoint."

Valdosta State University Undergraduate Student, American Government

"Dr Thomas has been the best professor Ive had at VSU this far. He prepared interesting powerpoints for every class and kept students engaged.

I don't like government classes because of how controversial they can get but Dr T. made everyones opinion feel welcomed. When classes got moved to

online he made everything extremely easy to understand and responded to every email as fast as he could. I would take this class 10x more if I could."

TEACHING

TEACHING PHILOSOPHY

Dr. Thomas is an award-winning instructor that aims to cultivate a classroom that builds upon the basic tenants of theory by infusing examples of real-world application with references to the impact that pop culture, social movements and sport have made on today’s policies. He is considered a teaching generalist with over 36 different courses taught across the public administration and political science fields in a myriad of formats and deliveries through the 2024-25 school year.

His classroom philosophy is best characterized by one key statement he consistently relays to his students: ‘I care about [the student] more as a person than as a letter grade.’ Dr. Thomas takes a holistic approach and have students at the graduate and undergraduate levels participate in personal reflection where he gets to know them as people first and foremost. In doing so, a rapport is established, which ultimately leads to high levels of engagement in discussion, where personal application of content takes place.

GRADUATE COURSE OFFERINGS

Budget and Finance in Nonprofit Organization
Cross-Sector Collaboration and Conflict
Fundraising and Fund Developmen
Governmental Budgeting and Finance
Health Policy
Human Resource Management
Independent Study
Nonprofit 48-Hour Charette
Non-Profit Management
Performance Analysis for Government and Non-Government Organizations
Policy Development and Administration,
(The) Profession of Public Administration
Program Evaluation
Public Administrators in the Governance Process
Public Management
Public Marketing and Branding
Public Organizations
Public Sector Theory
Nonprofit Marketing and Branding
Strategic Management
Survey and Needs Assessment

TEACHING INTERESTS

Public Administration
Public Management
Public Organizations
Public Marketing & Branding
Profession of Public Administration
Financial Management
Health Policy
Nonprofit Management
Organizational Theory
Qualitative Methods
Policy Eva

UNDERGRADUATE COURSE OFFERINGS

(The) Administration of Public Policy
American Government
Community & Economic Development
Emergency Management and Homeland Security
Introduction to American Government
Introduction to Political Science
Introduction to Public Administration
Introduction to Public Policy
Issues in Urban Administration
Political Science Research and Writing,
Professional Administrative Writing in the Public Sector
Program Evaluation for Nonprofit Organizations
Public Finance Administration
Public Sector Project Management,
Urban and Regional Planning

TEACHING GRANTS

2024-2025: AI Research Grant, Center for Innovative Teaching & Learning, WKU ($1,000)
2019: Summer Faculty Development Conference Grant, Karen L. Smith Faculty Center for Teaching and Learning, UCF ($800)
2018: Winter Faculty Development Conference Grant, Karen L. Smith Faculty Center for Teaching and Learning, UCF ($500)
2017:Outstanding Teaching Assistant Award, Program of Instructional Excellence, FSU ($750)
2015-2016: Program of Instructional Excellence Teaching Associate, FSU ($3,500)

AI TEACHING POLICY PHILOSOPHY

Artificial intelligence (AI) should be leveraged to augment human potential rather than replace it. When used appropriately and contextually, AI can support, enhance, and expand our learning and teaching experiences. Given that the public sector is leaning in towards its usage, it is my responsibility as an instructor to expose students to and nurture their skill development of AI related tasks in both academic and professional settings.

TEACHING HONORS

2024-2025: Nominee, CITL Teaching Honors
2023: Nominee, PPPM Instructor of the Year
2021: Nominee, Experiential Learning Faculty Ambassadors
2015-2017: Nominated (3x), Outstanding Teaching Assistant Award, Program of Instructional Excellence

MENTORSHIP

2022-2023: Midwest Political Science Association
Mentoring Program
2021-2022: Midwest Political Science Association Mentoring Program
2021: Thomas, M.B. Conference Mentor: Behavior, Methodology or Formal Theory, Public Policy and Public Administration, Midwest Political Science Association
2020-2021: 3 Minute Thesis Advisor (Mirakal Jackson, Winner "The Glass v. Concrete Ceiling”)
2016-2017: Mentor, Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program (UROP), Center for Undergraduate Research & Academic Engagement, FSU