Death of Professor Raymond Thomas, 1923-2007
Professor Raymond Thomas, one of the founder members of the University’s School of Management and its first Head of School, died on 12 January 2007 at the General Hospital in Weston-Super-Mare.
Professor Thomas joined the School of Management, which was then part of the Bristol College of Advanced Technology, in 1962 and held the post of Head of School until 1973, and then on a three-year rotation with Professor Iain Mangham and Professor Tomkins until 1983.
A professor of business administration, his main areas of expertise were corporate governance, transport economics and strategy. One of Professor Thomas’ most prominent research projects was a study of the effects of the then new Severn road bridge on South Wales and the south west in the mid 1960s.
Despite retiring at the end of August 1987, Professor Thomas remained an active member of the School and annually attended the undergraduate prize-giving ceremony to present the ‘Professor Raymond Thomas Prize’.
This prestigious award, presented annually to a graduand from the BSc in Business Administration with the highest mark in strategy, was set up and sponsored by former students of Professor Thomas in recognition of the huge contribution he made to students, the School and the University.
Professor Thomas was a much respected colleague and will be fondly remembered by his former colleagues and students.
The funeral service will be at St Mary’s Church, Walton, Clevedon, on Monday 29 January 2007 at 3pm.
Rather than sending flowers, donation cheques may be sent to: Lymphoma Association c/o R.G.Rawlings, Funeral Directors, 5 Woodlands Road, Clevedon BS21 7QD.
For further information / press enquiries, contact:
Liz Alvey, Marketing Officer
School of Management
University of Bath
Claverton Down
Bath BA2 7AY
UK
Tel:+ 44 (0) 1225 383526
Email: pr@management.bath.ac.uk
General Notes For Editors:
The University of Bath School of Management has consistently achieved both top research and teaching ratings in the UK's Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) assessments. In the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise (RAE), the School was rated 5th in the UK for management research.
We are one of a select number of international business schools accredited by EQUIS, the European Foundation for Management Development's quality inspectorate and the Bath MBA has been accredited by the Association of MBAs (AMBA) since 1976. The School is consistently ranked among the top UK business schools by The Times, The Sunday Times, The Financial Times and The Guardian.
The centrality of research to teaching is an essential feature of all our programmes. The School offers a full range of programmes from undergraduate to postgraduate up to PhD level and post-experience programmes including the world-ranked Bath MBA. The School also provides tailored executive development programmes for middle and senior management.
The School of Management has a faculty of around 90 teaching and research staff, including visiting academics, with a support team of around 70 managerial and administrative staff. Research income averages £2 million per annum. There are approximately 2,100 students in total comprising some 200 MBA students, 460 Master’s students, 210 full- and part-time research students, and over 1100 undergraduates following BSc degrees. The School also runs joint undergraduate programmes with Departments in the Faculties of Engineering and Design, Science and Humanities and Social Sciences.
