Hall of Fame
Thomas Palmer is a native of Meridian, McIntosh County, Georgia. He earned the B.S. degree in Secondary Education with a concentration in the Social Sciences from Fort Valley State College and the M.S. Degree in Counseling and Guidance from Atlanta University. After working in the public school systems of Griffin-Spalding and Bib Counties, in 1967 he accepted the position of the First Executive Secretary of the Fort Valley State College National Alumni Association. In 1970, he moved from the Alumni Association to Student Affairs as Dean of Students and later Vice President. It was in the positions of Dean of Students and VP for Student Affairs that Palmer was directly responsible for Student Athletics and over the years spent many hours trying to stretch always tight budgets to make sure that funds were available for each of the University’s sports. On a personal level, Dean and Mrs. Palmer participated in virtually every effort to support the teams, including purchasing rings, jackets, and band uniforms. Palmer retired from the University in 1997 and holds the title of Vice President for Student Affairs emeritus.
Palmer is or has been active in many fraternal and community organizations, including Sigma Pi Phi Fraternity where he currently serves as Sire Archon, Alpha phi Alpha Fraternity, the NAACP, the Peach County Planning and Zoning Board, the Peach Regional Medical Center Hospital Authority, the Board of Directors of the FVSU Foundation, the FVSU LLC, the FVSU National Alumni Association, and Wildcat Nation. As former Peach County Commissioner, Palmer served two terms and completed the University of Georgia’s Certified Commissioners Advanced Program as well as the Association of County Commissioners of Georgia’s program. He is a member of the Deacon’s Ministry at Trinity Baptist Church as well as a member and former Chairman of the Trustee Ministry.
Thomas Palmer has been the recipient of various honors and awards including the Presidential Citation( Distinguished Alumni of the Year) from the National Association for Equal Opportunity in Higher Education, election to the Fort Valley State University Hall of Fame, the Gold Award from the Fort Valley Area Alumni Chapter, and the Distinguished Service Award from Fort Valley State University. He has also been honored as Trinity Baptist Church’s Man of the Year. Too, Palmer was a participant in the Fulbright Study Abroad Program in Ghana and Cameroon, Africa.
