Special Alumni and Alumni Awards
Honorary Degree Recipients
Jefferson Thomas was honored for his service in the U.S. Civil Rights Movement and for
his commitment to the children and community surrounding Ohio Dominican.
After the US Supreme Court's ban on school segregation (Brown vs. Board of Education of
Topeka, Kansas, May 17, 1954), Mr. Thomas volunteered to desegregate the all-White Central
High School in Little Rock, Arkansas along with a group of eight other African-American
students, now known as the "Little Rock Nine." His trials and tribulations are
recounted in the 2000 Diversity Text, Warriors Don't Cry. The author, Melba Beals, is a
friend of Mr. Thomas and spoke at Ohio Dominican's 2000 Diversity celebration.
Mr. Thomas has served as treasurer of the NAACP Youth Council and State President of the
Progressive Baptist Youth Convention. He was inducted into the United States Army in 1966
where he served as an infantry squad leader (NCO) in Vietnam. Mr. Thomas is a founding
member on the board of directors of the Little Rock Nine Foundation. Currently, Mr. Thomas
is employed at the Defense Finance and Accounting Service - Contract Pay Services, in
Columbus. He has been a civil servant with the Department of Defense for 22 years. He
also mentors in Ohio Dominican's Village to Child Program and is a member on the board
of directors for the City of Refuge Learning Academy and the First Church of God Day Care
Center. Mr. Thomas is the recipient of numerous awards from local and federal governmental
agencies including The Congressional Gold Medal.
