Support the William A. and Rachel L. Thomas Graduate Fellowship in Geology Fund!

Thank you for your interest and support of the William A. and Rachel L. Thomas Graduate Fellowship in Geology Fund, and for your commitment to graduate education in the Department of Earth & Environmental Sciences. This fund was created in 2019 by Carolyn T. Mars and Amy T. Orr, together with their spouses, John C. “Lyle" Mars '95 and Robert R. Orr, Jr., to honor their parents. Dr. William A. Thomas graduated from UK with a B.S. in 1956 and an M.S. in 1957, both in Geology, and received his Ph.D. from Virginia Polytechnic Institute in 1959. He was a professor at UK from 1991 to 2010 and served as chair of what is now the Department of Earth & Environmental Sciences from 1991 to 1997 and 2006 to 2009. The William A. and Rachel L. Thomas Graduate Fellowship provides one or more annual fellowships to graduate students in the department who are conducting hands-on, field-based research. With your support, the department hopes to meet its goal of raising an additional $500,000 so that the fund can also support an endowed professorship honoring Dr. and Mrs. Thomas's contributions in perpetuity.

You can support the William A. and Rachel L. Thomas Graduate Fellowship in Geology Fund on this page. If you'd like to give to another fund that is not listed, please use the search box in the upper right of this page and type in the desired fund to make your gift. We are grateful for your support!