Dr. Matt Thomas has been with UCM since 2000 after working as a teacher in both Jr. High and High School English/Language Arts, as well as a K-12 School Administrator. He earned his BA in English with California Teaching Credential from The Master's College, MA in Education from Pepperdine University, and an Interdisciplinary PhD in Education and Urban Leadership and Policy Studies in Education, from the University of Missouri- Kansas City. His research interests include content area literacy, reading maturity, transformational literacy, epistemological development, and teacher education. He is currently splitting his time between serving as the Chair of the Department of Educational Foundations and Literacy in the College of Education and guiding the College of Education as Interim Dean.