The following is a tribute to Professor Emeritus Shailer Thomas, who passed away on Oct. 12, 2023, written by former colleague Dr. Wib Leonard, professor of Sociology.
Dr. Shailer Thomas, former chair and professor of sociology was a graduate of Oberlin College (undergraduate) and Michigan State University (Ph.D.). As a doctoral student at Michigan State, he was a mentee of Dr. Wilbur Brookover, noted for his expertise in the sociology of education.
After graduating from Michigan State he took an assistant professor position at Ohio State University where he taught the sociology of education and social psychology. After several years at Ohio State, he was interviewed and hired as the chair of Department of Sociology and Anthropology in 1969.
He eventually entered central administration in Hovey Hall and later returned to the department where he continued to teach social psychology and the sociology of education.
After retiring he and his spouse, Sherry, purchased a condominium in Bradenton, Florida, where they spent the winter months.
Shai (as some of us called him) had three biological children.
Shailer was a special friend of mine: I was a student in his classes when a graduate student at Ohio State; he hired me in 1970 (along with Bill Tolone, Dick Stivers, Jim Berry, and Mike Calavan (as an aside, can you imagine hiring five faculty in one year? Those were times when sociologists were billed as the doctors of society!). We traveled to professional meetings together and met each summer after his retirement to talk about sundry things.
Shailer was a soft-spoken individual and will be missed. He often attended thesis defenses and was known, at the end, to ask the question: “How is this, i.e., thesis research, relevant to sociology?”
