Dr. Arthur E. Thomas, President Emeritus, Central State University, Collection (MS-667)

The collection contains personal papers, legal documents and court proceedings, photographs, audio and video recordings, news clippings, awards and certificates, correspondence, and other materials relating to Dr. Thomas’s life and career in education and civil rights activism. The collection includes a significant amount of analog audiovisual material, including recordings of most episodes of Thomas’s interview program “Like It Is.”

Series I, III-V contain mostly paper documents, arranged semi-chronologically according to Dr. Thomas’s career. Series VI-X are format-based, containing any newspaper clippings, awards, audiovisual items (with the exception of “Like It Is” items which are in Series II), photographs, and memorabilia for the collection.

Series I: Biographical and Personal, contains biographical narratives and timelines, resumes, oral histories with Dr. Thomas, and various mementoes or correspondence concerning Dr. Thomas’s personal life. It also includes a few items related to Dr. Thomas’s mother, Janie, to whom he was very close. Materials in this series date between 1961 and 2019.

Series II: “Like It Is” Television Program, is the largest series in the collection, consisting of materials related to the weekly television program “Like It Is” that Dr. Thomas produced from 1978 to 1985. On the show, Dr. Thomas interviewed leaders known for civil rights activism and for overcoming race and gender barriers, such as James H. McGee, Louis Stokes, Rev. Jesse Jackson, Maya Angelou, and Rosa Parks. This series consists almost entirely of audiovisual material in various formats, including Umatic and VHS videotapes, as well as reel-to-reel and audiocassette audio recordings. Some of these recordings have been digitized and are already available for access. Positively dated materials in this series date between 1977 and 1983.

Series III: Early Career, consists of materials related to Dr. Thomas’s early career (prior to his work at Central State University) with the Dayton Public Schools, Model Cities Education Program, and the Center for the Study of Student Citizenship, Rights, and Responsibilities (usually called simply the “Student Rights Center” in Dayton). This series includes publications, reports, and legal proceedings. It also includes copies of testimony given by Dr. Thomas before The Select Committee on Equal Educational Opportunity of the U.S. Senate in 1971. There are no materials concerning Dr. Thomas’s time at the Wright State University Bolinga Center in this series, however. Materials in this series date between 1969 and 1973.

Series IV: Central State University includes materials related to Dr. Thomas’s time in the Administration at Central State University, where he was Vice President for Academic Affairs (1977-1985), then served as University President (1985-1995). This series overall includes materials from the time period 1971 to 2015. (Some of the material either pre-dates or post-dates Dr. Thomas’s time of employment but is related to events that took place during that time and is therefore included.) This series is divided into several subseries:

Subseries IV-A: Inauguration includes letters of recommendation for Dr. Arthur E. Thomas for the CSU presidency, as well as a copy of his inaugural speech in October 1985.

Subseries IV-B: Reports and Programs includes President’s Reports and other summary annual reports (1985-1994), then is followed by other reports and handbooks in roughly chronological order. These documents included strategic plans, program descriptions and reports, student handbooks, mission statements, task force reports, Title IV Financial Aid Program issues, etc. Materials in this subseries date from 1975 to 1997.

Subseries IV-C: Press Releases, contains official Central State University press releases dating between 1989 and 1991.

Subseries IV-D: Correspondence, includes correspondence concerning Central State University, arranged chronologically by year. The overall span dates for this subseries are 1971 to 2015, though the bulk of the material is between 1987 and 2000.

Subseries IV-E: Trips, includes files about Dr. Thomas’s travel during his tenure as University President, including many international trips, especially to African nations. Travel destinations in this subseries include Ghana, Japan, Kenya, Korea, Senegal, South Africa, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. Materials in this subseries date from 1987 to 1994.

Subseries IV-F: Legal, includes Dr. Thomas’s Testimony for Reauthorization of the Higher Education Act, Title III, in the U.S. House of Representatives (1985), materials concerning special audits and investigations (such as a Title VI civil rights investigation) at Central State University during Dr. Thomas’s time as president, and legal actions between the University and Dr. Thomas himself. Materials in this subseries date from 1985 to 2000.

Series V: Later Career, includes materials from Dr. Thomas’s work with the U.S. President's Board of Advisors on Historically Black Colleges and Universities; his work with the Union Institute; his work with the National Association for Equal Opportunity in Higher Education (NAFEO), including the NAFEO/Kellogg Leadership Fellows program; work at Morgan State University; and general speaking engagements. Materials in this series date between 1995 and 2020.

Series VI: Newspaper Clippings, consists of newspaper clippings relating primarily to Dr. Thomas’s life and activities and to a lesser extent subjects of interest to him. Materials in this series date from 1966 to 2018.

Series VII: Honors and Awards, consists of awards certificates; a small number of original, three-dimensional plaques or awards; and digitized surrogates of other three-dimensional plaques and awards. Materials in this series date from about 1971 to 2019.

Series VIII: General Audiovisual, includes all other audio and video media besides the “Like It Is” recordings, including Central State University events, such as convocations or graduations, speaking engagements, etc. Materials in this series date from about 1976 to about 1998.

Series IX: Photographs, Albums, and Scrapbooks, includes photographs documenting Dr. Thomas’s personal life, his career, and his travels. There are many albums of photographs from his time at Central State University, as well as photos with celebrities and public figures, including multiple U.S. Presidents, Rev. Jesse Jackson, and Bill Cosby. Of particular note are two album boxes of family photographs, dating back to Dr. Thomas’s childhood and earlier, including photos of family members in Philadelphia and South Carolina. Another notable grouping are the photos from Dr. Thomas’s trips abroad, particularly many photos from visits to Africa and Korea. Materials in this series date from roughly 1920 to 2020.