Dr. Jerry R. Thomas University of North Texas

Dr. Jerry R. Thomas is Dean of the College of Education at the University of North Texas. He previously was Professor and Chair of the Department of Health and Human Performance at Iowa State University.

Dr. Thomas' research is focused on children's motor development as well as research methods in physical activity. He has over 190 publications: 84 are in data based refereed journals for both exercise science (e.g., Journal of Motor Behavior, Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport, and Medicine and Science in Sport and Exercise) and psychology (e.g., Psychological Bulletin, Journal of Experimental Children Psychology, Behavioral and Brain Sciences, and Human Performance); 25 are chapters in edited scholarly books, and 14 are books. His book, Research Methods in Physical Activity (2001, 4th ed., Human Kinetics) is widely used in the U.S., Canada, Great Britain, Australia, and New Zealand. It has been translated into both Chinese and Japanese. He has presented 100 invited papers and 96 research papers in the U.S. as well as in Australia, Canada, China, Great Britain, Korea, and Hong Kong.

Dr. Thomas is a Fellow and former President of the American Academy of Kinesiology and Physical Education as well as the North American Society for Psychology of Sport and Physical Activity. He was Editor-in-Chief of Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport from 1983-89. Dr. Thomas was Alliance Scholar in 1989-90 for the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance (AAHPERD) and received their Honor Award in 1990. He was the C.H. McCloy Lecturer for AAHPERD in 1999.