Thomas College

Step into the rich legacy of Thomas College, an institution with a profound commitment to career-focused education that spans well over a century. What began as a dedicated training ground for practical skills has gracefully evolved into a dynamic degree-granting college, consistently adapting to meet the needs of a changing world while maintaining its core mission of empowering students for professional success.

Thomas College's journey commenced in 1894 as Keist Business College, a pioneering co-educational institution focused on career training. Through a series of foundational changes, including its acquisition by William Morgan and later by John L. Thomas Sr., the college transformed, first into Morgan Business College and then Morgan-Thomas Business College, steadfastly preparing countless students for roles as accountants and secretaries. The mid-20th century marked a significant evolution, as it became Thomas Junior College in 1950, eventually relocating to a new campus on Silver Street, setting the stage for its future as a comprehensive college.

The year 1962 marked a pivotal renaming to Thomas College, quickly followed by the groundbreaking right from the Maine State Legislature in 1963 to confer four-year degrees, fundamentally reshaping its academic offerings. This period of rapid growth culminated in a grand relocation to its current expansive 70-acre campus on the scenic Kennebec River in 1966. Recent years have seen new leadership, including the inauguration of its first woman and alumna president in 2012, and the welcoming of its sixth president in 2025, reflecting a forward-looking institution. Notably, 2025 also witnessed full-time faculty unionizing, a development that underscores the college's ongoing evolution in shared governance and community engagement.