Tom Thomas Dossier of Service

Abstract

Tom Thomas is a presence at IU East. His artworks hang and define the spaces on our campus. When he passed away in 2009 he left behind 34 years of service to IU East. In some ways he drew IU East into social spaces that helped define the campus. When IU East was growing Tom’s efforts helped the campus move forward. Among these efforts his artworks of the campus sold as notecards in the bookstore, he was called upon to design marketing pendants and emblems, he delivered the IU All –Campus Fine Arts Faculty Exhibition across the state, and the Whitewater Annual Art Competition caught the attention of artists and institutions in a five state area. The Whitewater Annual Art Competition began as Tom’s “path breaking” model for jurying art shows; the innovative judging design drew a newly retired art critic, John Canaday, from the New York Times to Richmond, IN. The Whitewater Annual Art Competition is ongoing through today as a testament to Tom’s boundless energy and excitement about art and artists. Tom encouraged his students to grow, explore and find ways to commercial success as artists. In his service record he writes about work frustrations and the needs of IU East coming before his own research and work, “…but this feeling quickly passes when I see a student that twenty years ago would never dared walk through the entrance of a university and realize that they too, are entitled to a little chunk of this world.”