By Jeff Murphy,
March 23, 2017
WARRENSBURG, MO – With a career in education that includes nearly 17 years at the
University of Central Missouri, Matt Thomas has a number of achievements that contribute
to his recent recognition as an outstanding educator. Ask this seasoned faculty member
to tell you about his career highlights, however, and he would prefer to share what
he values the most – the opportunity to teach UCM students.
Thomas was publicly recognized March 18 as UCM’s recipient of the Governor’s Award
for Excellence in Education, an honor announced by Deborah Curtis, provost-chief learning
officer, during a meeting of the Board of Governors. The UCM professor of reading
and literacy program coordinator now joins other award recipients from across the
state who will be honored during an awards luncheon hosted by Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens
April 7 in Jefferson City.
The annual awards program is made possible by the Missouri Council on Public Higher
Education (COPHE). Thirteen public universities select Governor’s Award for Excellence
in Education recipients on the basis of criteria that include effective teaching at
the undergraduate level, effective advising of undergraduate students, service to
the college community, and commitment to high standards of excellence. Other qualities
include success in nurturing student achievement and the impact nominees have had
on the academic and personal lives of their students.
“It is an honor to receive this award, and I do so knowing that many different faculty
are deserving of recognition,” Thomas said, “so I’m just standing in as a faculty
representative of sorts this year. It is truly a privilege to be able to go to work
every day as part of the UCM community, and to join together in our educational mission.
Thank you very much for this opportunity.”
Previously an English teacher, coach, and school administrator, Thomas joined UCM’s
faculty in 2000 as an assistant professor of reading in the former Department of Curriculum
and Instruction (now the Department of Educational Foundations and Literacy) in the
College of Education. He climbed the faculty ranks to become a full professor, serving
also in positions that have included department chair, 2011-2012, and literacy program
coordinator, 2010-2011 and fall 2015- present.
Thomas is an active scholar, authoring or co-authoring numerous conference presentations
and articles, a textbook, and three book chapters, and has served as a journal co-editor.
His primary research interests include content area literacy, "reading maturity,"
and "transformational literacy" or reading, writing, and thinking that not only informs,
but also transforms learners toward whole-person growth. He is also interested in
the ways that online discussion boards can help facilitate increased cognitive complexity
and epistemological development. He is currently working with colleagues on two reading
maturity research studies and a book chapter focused on reading programs for refugee
camps. Other contributions related to his research interests include the 2015 launch
of KeenReading.org, a research dissemination and literacy outreach initiative which
is focused on advancing the reading maturity construct through research, community
projects, teacher preparation, and social media.
The longtime university member has been involved with a number of academic, professional
and scholarly societies, including the International Literacy Association.
Thomas earned a Ph.D. at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, where he was also
a graduate research fellow/assistant at the university’s Center for Studies in Higher-Order
Literacy. Prior to that, he earned a Master of Arts in Education degree from Pepperdine
University in Los Angeles, Calif., and a Bachelor of Arts in English degree from The
Master’s College, Santa Clarita, Calif.
Thomas has earned other forms of recognition from UCM. This includes selection as
the faculty recipient of the Learning to a Greater Degree Award in spring 2016; College
of Education Faculty Awards for Excellence in Service (2011-2012) and Excellence in
Teaching (2014-2015), and College of Education and Human Services Award for Excellence
in Scholarship (2003-2004).
