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Rance Thomas Honored
Rance Thomas of NCCU Inducted to International Educator’s Hall of Fame
Rance Thomas, professor emeritus of sociology/criminal justice was inducted into the International Educator’s Hall of Fame –Youth on the Move, Inc . in Anaheim, CA a few weeks ago for his achievements as an educator and Service Above the Call to Duty.
During his educational career, he organized the Mentoring Program for Minority Students at Lewis & Clark Community College and served as chair for eleven years; was instrumental in establishing the Minority Affairs Committee, and was inducted into Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville’s Hall of Fame. He also co-authored several articles in national and international.
During his career he chaired the Students Achievement Committee for 12 years, served as a columnist for the Alton Telegraph Newspaper for 20 years and North St. Louis County Journal for five years.
Thomas was the first professor in the college’s 32-year history to be awarded the Professor Emeritus Status upon retirement. In addition, he was honored with the college establishing a Rance Thomas Endowed Scholarship for criminal justice students.
He was the cofounder of the North County Churches Uniting for Racial Harmony and Justice in 1998 and has served as president since this time working to promote racial understanding and social justice.
This organization began with 17 churches of various denominations and nondenominational churches and currently consists of 24 churches including six Catholic churches. Since the shooting of Michael Brown and the riots in Ferguson, Dr. Thomas has been working with five police chiefs, five pastors, and five others to improve relations between the police and the community through an organization that he founded called the “Discussion and Solutions Committee.”
During his career Thomas served as president, vice president, chair, and as a member of various other organizations including the President of Elijah P. Lovejoy Memorial for eight years, President of Southern Illinois University Edwardsville Alumni Association for two years, the Fine Arts Council in Florissant for two years, and Lewis & Clark Community Annuitant Association for the last 15 years.
Thomas is an ordained Elder within the Presbyterian Church (USA) he served in a number of leadership roles including the moderator of the Presbyterian Church’s Synod of Mid-America that consisted of over 500 churches in Illinois and Missouri.
