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.