Larry P. Thomas, Culture, Diversity and Inclusion Manager at Pennsylvania State University Applied Research Lab

At Pennsylvania State University’s Applied Research Laboratory (ARL), Larry P. Thomas is taking steps to support historically underrepresented groups as a center’s new director of culture, diversity, and inclusion unusual academic.

“My mantra is: always believe in the best,” said Thomas. “It inspires and motivates me to stay the course and try to be a North Star, even in the darkness of this pivotal moment.”

In 1945, ARL was created at the request of the US Navy to develop underwater weapons technology. Today, it is one of the few university-affiliated research centers (UARC) designated by the United States Department of Defense (DoD).

Given this designation, ARL conducts research, development, and systems engineering activities in service of the nation’s priorities.

For Thomas, ARL’s unique position makes building an inclusive community there all the more critical.

“Larry is a visionary leader in the DEI space,” said Dr. Allan Sonsteby, Executive Director of ARL. “He is constantly thinking about the initiatives we have here and how they can scale up nationally.”

One such initiative is ARL’s competitive summer internship and mentorship program, or Open DOOR program. Each year, through Open DOOR, approximately 30 STEM-qualified undergraduate students can hone their technical, communication, and career-readiness skills. The program also serves as an ARL talent pool. And a key focus has been supporting historically underrepresented groups.

“We’re in our 25th year of running this program, and Larry is already thinking about how we can expand our efforts to other universities like ours to replicate this model,” Sonsteby said. “Rather than bringing in 30 students, he asks how we can bring in 300 students. My job is to empower Larry to make sure he has the resources to succeed, and he knocks him out of the park.

Still, Thomas said he’s been proudest so far of creating fundamentals for ARL staff. For him, ofDiversity means recognizing and respecting the similarities and differences between people, while inclusion means valuing and appreciating those similarities and differences. Thomas added that this moment in the country makes those shared principles all the more pressing.

“We are all trying to survive a deadly pandemic, deadly mass shootings, heightened racial tension, ongoing political conflict, social upheaval, economic adversity and learned helplessness,” Thomas said. . “The sudden and unexpected urgency of this moment has been difficult for all of us. I think we need to come together to understand how we will emerge from this crisis with the resources we need to get through it, move forward and live a meaningful life.

Thomas is also the first vice chair of the Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Council of the Intelligence and National Security Alliance (INSA). A nonprofit, nonpartisan professional association, INSA focuses on building public-private partnerships to advance intelligence and national security priorities.

“During my tenure, my top priority is to establish diversity, equity and inclusion criteria for our members,” Thomas said of his role at INSA, whose members include leaders intelligence, military and government agencies. “I believe the challenge is the opportunity, so to speak. It takes dozens of insights from experts in the intelligence and defense industries and synthesizes this collective knowledge to find synergies.

Thomas explained how these synergies then help to define INSA’s standards and skills so that members understand best practices. Thomas also sees synergies between his work at ARL and INSA given their common stakeholders. Throughout his career, Thomas said building coalitions has been essential to his DEI work.

Previously, he was the founding director of the Frederick Douglass Distinguished Scholars Program (FDDS) at American University (AU). Established in 2009, the program offers AU undergraduate students who demonstrate leadership and academic excellence a full renewable scholarship for four years of undergraduate study. Thomas has been instrumental in setting the way forward for the program.

“He knew what the program was capable of, and he knew that depending on how the winds were blowing at the university, he might or might not get the resources he needed,” said Russell Williams, Distinguished Artist in Residence Emeritus . at American University and faculty advisor to the FDDS during Thomas’ tenure there. “But he never gave up. He knew there had to be another way through, so he worked as many angles as possible to make his vision real.

According to the FDDS website, students from historically underrepresented minorities and students from economically disadvantaged backgrounds are strongly encouraged to apply. Preference is also given to first-generation student leaders. Williams added that Thomas pushed the FDDS program to be more geographically diverse in its outreach and selection process.

He also went out of his way to connect students with alumni and faculty, Williams noted.

“He not only wanted to be the primary mentor for the students, but also the traffic cop in a way,” Williams said. “He would tell a student, for example, that we know someone at the Faculty of Arts and Science that you should meet, someone that you can hang on to as a result of your research throughout your career. “

For higher education leaders looking to boost inclusion, Thomas had some actionable advice.

“Incorporate diversity and inclusion into everything and anything,” he said. “Bring together the results-oriented polymaths of your institution. They are used to improving diversity, equity and inclusion on your campus. Most of them have the curiosity and the connections to solve unsolvable problems, meet unforeseen challenges, and seize untapped opportunities on and around your campus, but are never engaged, mostly because they seem too busy or disinterested. Collect them. Get them involved. Give them a problem to solve. Don’t let your first impression be a lasting impression.

Thomas said his own mentors inspired his work. He graduated from Rowan University and earned a master’s degree in higher education administration and a master’s degree in business administration from Syracuse University. Barry L. Wells, retired senior vice president and dean of student affairs at Syracuse, has been one of Thomas’s mentors since 1997.

“He’s what I would call one of my 10 percent,” Wells said of Thomas. “I believe that anytime you work with people, you find maybe an exceptional group of about 10% who really embrace the roles they have or aspire to have. Larry has been one of those people since I started. met.

Wells said Thomas knocked on his office door one day in Syracuse and asked if Wells would be his mentor. Wells said yes, but only if Thomas was really committed to developing. Thomas agreed, and so began a decades-long relationship.

“There are three things that come to mind when I think of Larry’s leadership traits: visionary, innovative and with integrity,” Wells added. “I used to tell my colleagues and mentees that when my life is over and people look back on my legacy, there’s a word that hopefully would be used to describe my life. And it’s ‘integrity.’ That I’ve lived my life with integrity. It means that your life has purpose, meaning. And that’s a quality that every effective leader must possess.

Wells recalled an email from a former student who worked closely with Thomas when he led the Congress of African American Men in Syracuse in 1998. The former student wrote to Thomas years later how he was become a model. This graduate said he now gives young professionals the same advice that Thomas first gave him.

“As a mentor, I’m very proud of him,” Wells said. “He emailed me a few years ago, and he didn’t have to, but the title was ‘Much respect due’. He thanked me for my mentorship. Now I don’t don’t expect to get that from any of my mentees so many years after working with me. But periodically Larry does this. It makes an old man proud and feels good. He took to heart what was has been passed on and, more importantly, he passes it on to others.

That integrity, or purpose, that Wells spoke of remains part of Thomas living out his mantra of believing in better.

“It takes hard, smart work and a lot of self-care, but I can’t think of a better way to leave a legacy and make a measurable, meaningful difference,” Thomas said.

Rebecca Kelliher can be contacted at [email protected]