SUNY Online Teaching Ambassador 2024: Stony Brook – Thomas McDonald

Thomas J. McDonald is the Assistant Director of Human Resources, Employee & Labor Relations, at the Research Foundation of the City University of New York, where he oversees the operation of the labor and employment relations unit. Thomas is an Adjunct Lecturer in the School of Professional Development’s Higher Education Administration Graduate Program at Stony Brook University. A graduate of the State University of New York at New Paltz, Thomas earned his graduate degree in education from the University of Texas and his law degree from New York Law School.

A licensed attorney in New York State, Thomas has extensive experience in higher education administration and has served as an Equity Compliance Specialist, Title IX Coordinator, ADA Compliance Officer, and Administrative Compliance Officer. Thomas’s areas of expertise include student affairs, human resources, employment law, civil rights law, budgeting, management, strategic planning, accreditation, statutory compliance, labor relations, investigations, due process hearings, emergency management, alternative dispute resolution, and policy development.

As an Adjunct Lecturer at Stony Brook University, Thomas primarily teaches online courses in crisis management and legal issues in education. Thomas is the recipient of the student nominated Faculty Excellence Award. Thomas also teaches continuing education classes for attorneys, most recently for the Westchester Women’s Bar Association and the Women’s Bar Association of the State of New York.

I enjoy teaching and approach my classes with a high level of enthusiasm. Since my online courses are asynchronous, the creation of a cohesive class where the students interact with me and each other is essential. In furtherance of this goal, I am an active participant in class discussions and provide weekly feedback to each student. This in turn helps lead to increased student engagement. My goal as an educator is to ensure students learn the course material while also helping them recognize their potential as future leaders in higher education. Since I teach in the School of Professional Development, I help students make connections between class content and their experience as students and workers. This goal is further accomplished through the use of case studies and assignments that mirror common administrative duties, such as report writing. I know my methods are working when students tell me they successfully applied something they learned in class to their work. I also encourage students to ask questions about careers in higher education and ways to grow professionally. Finally, I do my best to live by a motto I teach the students: “People care about what you know, but they also want to know that you care.”