Dr.
David Thomas, associate professor of biology, is the 28th winner of the
Lamar Williamson Prize for Excellence in Teaching.
(At right, Dr. Thomas receives the Williamson Prize cup from
President Walter Roettger and Ray LaCroix, chair of the Board of Trustees.)The award was announced Saturday during Lyon's 135th Commencement ceremony.
Dr. Thomas joined the Lyon faculty in 1999. He earned a doctorate degree from the University of Idaho, and master's and bachelor's degrees from Central Washington University.
Co-adviser to Catholic Campus Ministries, Thomas also serves as chair of the athletic committee. He's a volunteer at the Batesville Help and Hope, a member of the Knights of Columbus, a Cub master for the White River District Boy Scouts of America, and an avid photographer.
Originally from Yakima, Wash., Thomas enjoys caving, hiking, camping and photography. He works to instill in his students a “respect and awe for the universe around them, the ability to think rationally and critically and the courage to ask questions.”
Though his degrees call him a plant physiologist, Thomas considers himself to be an astrobiologist. He's fascinated by the whole of nature and he enjoys teaching because it allows him to share his fascination with others. Thomas' research program attempts to elucidate the nature of the earliest forms of life on Earth, and to determine whether life could exist elsewhere in the Universe. He conveys his enthusiasm for space exploration outside of the college community through educational outreach programs of the Arkansas Space Grant Consortium and the NASA/JPL Solar System Ambassadors program.
The Williamson Prize is given annually by Lyon College to the faculty member deemed to be the most outstanding in four categories: professional competence, scholarly ability, exemplary humane and Christian values, and contributions to the community.
The Williamson Prize confers upon the recipient a silver cup and a stipend from a memorial fund, both of which were given by J. Gaston Williamson of Little Rock in honor of his father. The award is announced at commencement each May.
The winner of the prize presents a public lecture at a convocation the following academic year. Nominations for the Williamson Prize are solicited from faculty and students in March, and the final selection is made in the spring by a selection committee composed of various campus leaders as well as two students selected by the Student Government Association.
The Lyon Board of Trustees approved the committee's recommendation at its April meeting.