News Release

Auden Thomas to lead University’s Commission for Women

April 10, 2008

The University’s Commission for Women will be under the leadership of Penn State Harrisburg’s Auden Thomas in 2009 and 2010.

Dr. Thomas, the director of the Center for Survey Research in the college’s Institute of State and Regional Affairs, has been elected the commission’s chair-elect for the 2008-09 academic year and will become chair in 2009.

“I joined the Penn State Commission for Women in 2005, just weeks after accepting my appointment at Penn State Harrisburg,” Dr. Thomas says. “I have a passion for advancing gender equity in higher education and was eager to become involved with others working to enhance women’s status here.”

She continues, “My focus on women’s equity issues preceded my association with Penn State. I have a Ph.D. in higher education with minors in gender studies and anthropology and I conduct both contemporary and historical research on women students, women’s colleges, and women as leaders in academe.”

Prior to joining Penn State Harrisburg, Dr. Thomas conducted survey administration activities and research at the Center for Postsecondary Research and Planning at Indiana University in Bloomington. She has more than a decade of experience in higher education administration, including service as the director of student activities at the University of the Arts and Widener University and as an administrator at Carolina Friends School, Durham, N.C.

Dr. Thomas earned her Ph.D. at Indiana University at Bloomington, a master of fine arts at Temple University, and a bachelor’s at Penn State. Her research interests include the history of education, women in academe, college student retention, and campus cultures. She is a member of the American Association for Public Opinion Research, the Association for the Study of Higher Education, and the History of Education Society.

Under Dr. Thomas’ direction, the Center for Survey Research offer a comprehensive range of custom-designed survey research services to public and private sector sponsors. Its primary commitment is the collection and analysis of accurate and useful data using the most advanced sampling and survey methods available. Recent survey work by the center has involved topical areas in health, education, transportation, and economic development, and the annual Penn State Poll.