Thomas Allen Crain served as senior lecturer at the Johns Hopkins University Carey Business School from 2008 to 2022. He was lead instructor for Business Communication and taught courses in leadership, organizational behavior, ethics, and corporate governance. From 1993 to 2006 he was the director of Odyssey, a non-credit liberal arts program, and from 1997 to 2008 directed the Bachelor of Science in Interdisciplinary Studies. Before joining Johns Hopkins, Professor Crain was a program coordinator for the Smithsonian Institution’s Campus on the Mall, and before that he taught courses in writing, communications, and literature with the University of Maryland’s European Division in Germany, Italy, and Turkey. He retired in 2022 but continues to teach courses on a part-time basis.
Crain's research interests include lying and self-deception, the impact of culture on managerial decisions, cross-cultural communication, and rhetoric and persuasion. He has spoken recently on AI,robots, and the future of work and on generational trends among Millennials and Boomers. From 2004 to 2012 he was a member, and ultimately chair, of the Maryland Humanities Council board of directors, and from 2010-2014, he co-chaired its Practicing Democracy initiative, an award-winning program using the humanities to engage Marylanders in civil discourse about divisive issues such as race, immigration, and the environment. He has also served on the boards of the Baltimore Architecture Foundation and Maryland Natural History Society. Crain has extensive experience as an editor and writer, and in 2009 received Carey’s Excellence in Teaching Award.
Education
- MA, Humanities, Johns Hopkins University
- MA, English and American Language and Literature, University of Michigan
- BA, German Language and Literature, University of Maryland European Division
- BA, English, Williams College
Research
Selected publications
- Crain, T. Self-Deception, Personal Voice, and Decision Making
Teaching
Current
- Business Communication
- Corporate Governance
Honors and distinctions
- Alumni Excellence in Teaching Award, Johns Hopkins University, 2009
- Vice Chair and Chair of Programs Committee, Maryland Humanities Council Board of Trustees, 2007-present
- Member, Baltimore Architecture Foundation Board of Directors, 2003-present
- University Continuing Education Association, Chair of the Humanities, Arts, and Sciences Division; Commissioner, Education and Technology Commission, 1995-2001