The Reverend Dr. John Martin Thomas (1869 at Fort Covington, New York – 26 February 1952 in Rutland, Vermont) was the twelfth President of Rutgers University serving from 1925 to 1930.

A graduate of Middlebury College, and the Union Theological Seminary, Thomas serveas as a pastor at the Arlington Avenue Presbyterian Church in East Orange, New Jersey from 1893 to 1908. In 1908, he was appointed President of Middlebury College, a position in which he served until 1921 when he became President of the Pennsylvania State College (now a University). He left Penn State in 1925.

When Thomas was appointed President in 1925, Rutgers was christened as a University. During his tenure, enrollment grew steadily, four year courses in Economics and Business Administration were added to the curriculum, the New Jersey College of Pharmacy was incorporated into the University, and the Bureau of Biochemical and Bacteriology Research was established, in addition to the construction of several new buildings. Thomas resigned in 1930 due to indecisiveness between the state of New Jersey and university officials over the half-private, half-public role of Rutgers. Upon his resignation, Thomas assumed a vice-presidency of the National Life Insurance Company in Montpelier, Vermont and later became acting president of Norwich University.

External links

• Rutgers University
• Leadership on the Banks: Rutgers' Presidents, 1766–2004