Professor George Thomas, director of the Salvatori Center for Individual Freedom, was recognized with the 2022-23 Presidential Award for Merit, one of Claremont McKenna College’s highest honors.
CMC President Hiram E. Chodosh presented the award to Thomas at a Board of Trustees lunch held just before the CMC Commencement 2023 ceremony.
“Among so many deserving faculty, Professor Thomas has made invaluable contributions along each dimension of outstanding scholarship, superb teaching, and selfless, high-impact leadership and service to the College and the nation,” Chodosh said.
Noting how Thomas has authored major academic publications and is a “powerful voice on the issues of our time,” Chodosh cited Thomas’ The (Un)Written Constitution (Oxford University Press) as one of “the most important, recent books on constitutional interpretation.”
Chodosh also highlighted Thomas’ exemplary service leadership, including creative programming that is “some of the most imaginative, immersive experiences that reinforce our Open Academy commitments.”
In addition, Chodosh praised Thomas, the Burnet C. Wohlford Professor of American and Political Institutions, as one of “our finest classroom teachers,” who holds a “higher set of expectations that stretch and motivate our students to reach new intellectual heights and depths, including in particular through their research.”
Thomas joined CMC in 2007, and is an expert in American Constitutionalism, American Political Thought, Constitutional Law, and the U.S. Supreme Court. He is author of The Founders and the Idea of a National University: Constituting the American Mind and The Madisonian Constitution, as well as co-author of the two-volume American Constitutional Law: Essays, Cases, and Comparative Notes.
Thomas has published numerous scholarly articles, and his work has appeared in popular journals and publications including National Affairs, The American Interest, and the Washington Post. He has received fellowships from the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Huntington Library, and is a recipient of the Alexander George Award from the American Political Science Association.
“It was really gratifying that President Chodosh had such detailed knowledge about my writing, my teaching, and the things I’ve been doing as director of the Salvatori Center and for the College more generally,” said Thomas.