Dr. Herman E. Thomas is credited for creating many opportunities for minority and underrepresented students to succeed at UNC Charlotte and in their lives thereafter.
As a professor of religious studies, assistant director of the African and African American Studies program and founder of the University Transition Opportunities Program, affectionately referred to as UTOP, Dr. Thomas has impacted the lives of hundreds of students.
He welcomed the first UTOP class, made up of 16 students, to campus on July 4, 1986. UTOP’s success was immediate and has continued over the years through increased retention and graduation rates. The counseling, tutoring and social activities that minority and underrepresented incoming students receive through the program help them get a running start on their college experience.
Dr. Thomas received the UNC Charlotte Distinguished Service Award in 2005 for his personal commitment to educational opportunity for all students. In 2018, Dr. Thomas and fellow Emeritus Professor Mary Harper were honored with the establishment of the Harper-Thomas Legacy Endowment for Study Abroad.
After retiring from UNC Charlotte, Dr. Thomas served as acting vice president for academic affairs and provost at Shaw University.
He has served his community throughout his career as chairman emeritus, founding board member and member of the board of directors of the Harvey B. Gantt Center for African-American Arts and Culture, founding president of the Charlotte chapter of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference advocacy organization and board member of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Arts and Science Council.
Dr. Thomas earned his bachelor’s degree from North Carolina A&T State University, where he played a significant role in the civil rights movement, including taking part in the famous sit-in at the Woolworth’s lunch counter in Greensboro, North Carolina.
In addition, he earned both his bachelor’s degree in divinity and his master’s degree in theology from the Duke University Divinity School and his doctorate in American religious studies from the Hartford Seminary Foundation.