In March 2023, news broke that Dr. Anita Thomas would step into the role of NCC’s president. After a year-long search process for the new president, the Board of Trustees unanimously elected Thomas for the position. During the search, Dr. Donna Carroll acted as the interim president.
An experienced educator, researcher, psychologist and the previous executive vice president and provost at St. Catherine University in St. Paul, Minn, Thomas brings a wealth of knowledge to the position. Her election was received with excitement by NCC’s student body.
Thomas is NCC’s first woman and person of color to hold the title of president on campus. Her appointment appears indicative of a change in the campus community.
Despite having a busy schedule, Thomas sat down with Chronicle reporters for an interview. During the interview, she talked about her various duties as president, her eagerness to connect with campus members and her plans for change.
Connecting with the Cardinal community
As the president, Thomas’s job encompasses a wide range of responsibilities. Her main role, she confirmed, is to supervise the cabinet. She stands at the head of all the campus divisions—operations, business affairs, student affairs and academic affairs.
She oversees advancement, development, enrollment and management. According to her, however, her main job revolves around creating and supporting the “vision for the institution.”
One of the ways she’s accomplishing this is by making herself a familiar face on campus. Besides taking her dog for daily trips around campus, Thomas has launched a 100-day “Find the President” campaign. She’ll appear in classrooms throughout departments, pop into The Cage and hang out on the spine.
With this new initiative, she hopes to encourage students to give her feedback. Furthermore, she wants students to approach her around campus, sit down for a coffee and share their perceptions of NCC’s work with her.
“I’m hoping to really not have barriers, but to create more formal and informal opportunities to Interact with students,” said Thomas.
In addition to more traditional means of feedback, it’s this informal communication, she believes, that will be key to creating positive change.
Student wellbeing
For these first stages of her presidency, Thomas looks to see where she can positively impact the campus. So far, her leadership has centered around productive and effective change. This change, for Thomas, begins with the students. The whole reason she does what she does—teaching, mentoring and leading—circles back to the student body.
For Thomas, students are “the heart of the institution.” Because of this, she aims to “create an environment where the students can thrive.”
She recognizes that students come from all walks of life, and she hopes that NCC will accommodate their specific needs. Thomas also, due to her extensive background in both classrooms and administration, understands the “pivotal moment” that mental health currently sits at. She wants to use this understanding to help students shine where they are.
“I’m very dedicated and very sensitive to not just helping students with their academics, finding a major and excelling in their coursework, but also thinking about co-curricular activities that will be important for their own sense of personal development and sense of mental well-being,” said Thomas.
Bridging the gap
As far as changes she wants to see implemented, President Thomas intends to focus efforts on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) programs across campus. Thomas recognizes that NCC hosts a diverse background of students. She wants to assure students that she’s been paying attention to the different stressors that they deal with. She hopes to increase access to opportunities, resources, services and programs for all students.
Thomas even mentions a post-it note on the wall in her office, DEI spelled out in bold letters.
“I hear from board members, faculty, staff and from students, that there’s a real sense of the need and …urgency to really address the DIE and opportunities there. So, I’m doing a lot of listening: trying to get a sense of incidents that happened on campus and responses to it,” said Thomas.
With these changes in mind, Thomas feels the need to emphasize that improvements never follow a linear path. From the ground level, she emphasizes, it can be difficult to fully conceptualize all the moving parts. Thankfully, in her position as president, Thomas sits at that “50,000-foot level.”
She can see the challenges, both external and internal, that the college is tackling. This perspective helps her lead people through any frustrations or questions they may have regarding the changes around campus.
She heavily emphasizes the need for open and honest communication from the students. The creation of a positive college community begins with them, she insists.
A changing campus culture
President Thomas is no stranger to building communities. Coming from a family of educators, spanning from elementary to high school and on to higher education, she understands the benefits that a well-rounded education brings.
For her, the main point of receiving an education centers not only around being able to feed your family but also on giving back. She reminisces about the times she spent, as a child, going in and out of the house on various missions. Her family helped with multiple social organizations and volunteered their time to mentor individuals.
She jokes that her house was “only the place where (they) slept.”
She hopes that, during her time at NCC, she can push this community-centered aspect of learning.
Parental insight
She also approaches this new college community with the empathy of a parent. Her two children began their first years of college this fall; her son attends Carthage, while her daughter chose the University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire.
With her two children beginning classes, she understands the challenges that most parents of incoming first-years face. Despite her enthusiasm for her kids, she calls it a “proud, but bittersweet” moment and jokes about how “excruciating” it is for many parents. Without direct access to their children, many parents worry about their safety, grades and whether or not they’ll attend class.
For Thomas, however, it gives her a sense of empathy for the parents and students at NCC who all undergo the same thing together.
Breaking barriers
Underestimated throughout various stages of her career, Thomas tackles her new job as president with the resilience of someone who has encountered many obstacles.
When asked about navigating the workplace as a woman of color, Thomas reflects on decades of being misjudged and spoken over. She jokes about something she encounters often: others being shocked at her eloquence.
“I was introduced as Dr. Thomas. Did you expect me to be inarticulate or not able to speak,” chuckled Thomas.
Thomas also, however, recognizes the insight she’s gained from these interactions.
“So, I have learned in my career to really try to be as assertive as I can, to take ownership of my ideas and to make sure I’m getting credit for them,” said Thomas.
She discusses the frustrations that accompanied her for many parts of her career. With these in mind, she also considers the sense of strength and self-assurance she gained from approaching every barrier well-prepared. Thomas hopes that some of this awareness can be imparted onto the NCC student body.
“You have to have a good sense of yourself, and you have to trust your sense of self. You really need to know what your calling is, and then let the rest take care of itself,” said Thomas.
Moving forward
Thomas strides into this upcoming year with a sense of confidence. Already, she has become a regular figure on campus. Students, staff and faculty can find her popping in and out of classes and buildings, always available for a chat. It’s these interactions that the president lives for. When asked what she’s most excited about for this fall semester, Thomas has an easy answer:
“I’m excited to meet the students.”
