H101 – James R. Thomas (1855-1867)
President James R. Thomas carried the burden of closing Emory College for the duration of the Civil War and reopened it in January of 1866. By then the endowment, invested in Confederate bonds, had been wiped out. Before the war, Thomas balanced the school budget for the first time in its history, and helped the school find financial stability after the Civil War. In 1866, Thomas persuaded the Emory trustees to offer a Bachelor of Science degree in addition to the Bachelor of Arts degree, in order to train Georgians in the practical, as well as the liberal arts.

In 1857, President Thomas advised the trustees to abolish the “Mystic Associations,” forerunners of the fraternity system, noting that the late night meetings emphasized “vicious revels” and social “clannishness.” The banishment was short-lived. In 1869, soon after Thomas’ departure, Chi Phi and Kappa Alpha were chartered at Emory.

The Thomas apartment is located in the Graduate Residential Center. This spacious two bedroom, two and 1⁄2 bath apartment is 1,154 square feet in size.