death_place death_date birth_place birth_date article_title name occupation alma_mater
venice , florida 28 june 2004 holliday , texas july 5 , 1917 david a. thomas -lrb- educator -rrb-
 david a. thomas academician , administrator , advisor university of michigan
david a. thomas -lrb- educator -rrb-

david ansell thomas -lrb- july 5 , 1917 -- june 28 , 2004 -rrb- was an american educator and the seventh dean of the s.c. johnson graduate school of management at cornell university , from 1981-1984 .
he received his b.a. from texas tech -lrb- 1937 -rrb- , his m.b.a. and c.p.a. from texas christian university , and his ph.d. from the university of michigan -lrb- 1949 -rrb- .
during the second world war , dean thomas served as a captain , u.s. army air corps , seeing combat duty in the pacific theater .
as administrator , charles e. merrill family trust fund , he administered $ 120 million in grants to educational institutions , medical school , religious charities , and social-service organizations .
in 1954 , he joined the cornell school of business and public administration -lrb- subsequently named the graduate school of management , and eventually the johnson graduate school of management -rrb- as an associate professor of accounting .
rising to full professor in a few years , dr. thomas became acting dean in 1961 and associate dean in 1962 .
he continued to teach and publish extensively during the 1960s and 1970s , and finally became dean in 1981 .
