To the Campus Community:

I am pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Thomas J. Ward Jr. as the new Dean of Farmingdale State College’s School of Arts & Sciences. The appointment will be effective August 1. 

Tom first joined FSC’s faculty as Assistant Dean of the School of Arts & Sciences in 2019. Prior to FSC, he was Chair of the History Department at Spring Hill College in Mobile, Alabama. He also held previous teaching positions at Rockhurst University in Kansas City, Missouri; the Alabama School of Math and Science in Mobile; and University College Cork in Ireland.

His experience, passion for education, and commitment to Farmingdale State College will ensure the success and advancement of the cutting-edge departments at FSC’s largest school. We are delighted that he will lead our School of Arts & Sciences.

A nationally recognized historian, Tom is also an accomplished writer, who has authored numerous articles on African American history and the history of health care in the American South, and has received numerous awards for his work, including those from the Association of American Publishers, the Langum Charitable Trusts, the Gulf South Historical Association, the Mississippi Historical Society, and the Virginia Military Institute.

I want to share my tremendous appreciation to all the members of the search committee for their leadership and dedication through the selection process.

Tom succeeds Dr. Charles Adair, who has served as Dean of the School of Arts & Sciences since 2016. Charles has been an integral member of the FSC community for almost 50 years and we are deeply grateful that he will continue to support our mission in his new role as Special Advisor to the Provost.

Please join me in congratulating Tom on his new role and thanking Charles for his exceptional service.

John Nader
President