Distinguished alumna and notable businesswoman Deborah Scott Thomas will deliver the keynote address at Alabama State University’s 111th Founder’s Day Convocation on Friday, Feb. 4, at 10 a.m. in the ASU’s Oliver-Dunn Acadome.
This year’s theme is “Remembering and Celebrating ASU’s Legends of Leadership and Service.”
Thomas is president and chief executive officer of Data Solutions and Technology Inc. in Lanham, Md. She graduated from ASU with a B.S. in accounting and management in 1974. She earned a Masters in Public Administration from Webster University, St. Louis, Mo., in 1977.
Thomas was one of the first black females in ASU’s ROTC program. She received her United States Air Force Commission as a second lieutenant from ASU’s Detachment 019 in 1975.
Thomas served in the United States Air Force Reserve as a medical service corp. officer for more than 30 years before retiring as a colonel. While in the Reserve, she worked for Mnemonic Systems Inc. as vice president of Human Resources. She also worked at McDonnell Douglas and Johnson and Johnson. She founded Data Solutions and Technology Inc. in 1994.
Thomas’ clients include a who’s who of federal agencies.
“I work with the Department of Defense, the Defense Intelligence Agency, the Department of Energy and the Department of Commerce,” Thomas said. “It wasn’t easy getting in the door, but I was able to make the right connections and build strong professional relationships.”
Thomas also maintains a strong relationship with ASU. Her son Darius is a student at ASU and several of her sisters, brothers and other relatives attended Alabama State. She is an active member of the ASU D.C. Metro Alumni Chapter and the ASU National Alumni Association. Thomas and her husband, Oatice, also an ASU alumnus (1978), continue to provide financial support to ASU and its students.
The convocation will be preceded by the annual Founders’ Day Breakfast at 8 a.m. on the Acadome Concourse. Both events are free and open to the public.
Posted By: Reginald Culpepper
Friday, January 28th 2011 at 12:54PM
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