Thomas Crain, ABD

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 holds a B.A. in English from Williams College, a B.A. in German from the University of Maryland, an M.A. in English from the University of Michigan, and received a second M.A. from the Johns Hopkins Humanities Center in 2010, having completed all but the dissertation toward the PhD. His 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 Millennials and Boomers: Generational Trends. From 2004 to 2012 he was a member--and ultimately chair--of the Maryland Humanities Council (MHC) 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

• 2009  Alumni Excellence in Teaching Award, Johns Hopkins University
• 2007–Present:  Vice Chair & Chair of Programs Committee, Maryland Humanities Council Board of Trustees (elected)
• 2003–Present: Member,  Baltimore Architecture Foundation Board of Directors
• 1995–2001: University Continuing Education Association, Chair of the Humanities, Arts, and Sciences Division; Commissioner, Education and Technology Commission