WATERVILLE, MAINE, March 2025 — Former Thomas College President George Spann died last week. He was 81 years old. Spann served as President of Thomas College for 23 years and was credited with the transformation of the College. He served from 1989 to 2012.
“George Spann played a momentous role to sustain and create the Thomas College we know today. He was a leader through hard times and good times. Without his efforts the College would not be what it is today. All of us who have shepherded Thomas through the years owe him an enormous debt of gratitude. He was the right person at the right time and the College will forever benefit from his extraordinary efforts,” said Thomas College Board member and former chair Conrad Ayotte.
During Spann’s tenure as President, Thomas College launched the first of-its-kind in the nation Guaranteed Job Program in 1999, constructed and renovated several new campus spaces including the Student Center, Dining Center, Ayotte Auditorium, Harold Alfond Athletic Center, Bartlett and Townhouses Residence Halls, was innovative and very supportive the use of technology at Thomas to enhance information systems, student learning and instruction, and student residence hall and commuter needs, and unveiled new academic offerings in Arts & Sciences including Elementary Education, Psychology, and Criminal Justice.
“I started working at Thomas when I was 26 years old, and George Spann was one of the first mentors I had in a professional setting. Charged with starting a new baseball program and overseeing a relatively new Sport Management program, President Spann was demanding, yet overly and generously supportive in everything I did,” said Thomas College professor Dr. Greg King. “President Spann recognized that the entire institution competed for scarce resources yet was always encouraging and supportive with a ‘can do’ attitude. He taught me how to accomplish ‘more with less’ and always encouraged me to be creative to accomplish goals for the Sport Management and baseball programs while adhering to the ‘Thomas Way.’ President Spann had to make a lot of difficult decisions when I first started but I always felt he made the final decision on what was best for Thomas, our students, and our faculty and staff.”
“I will always remember with fondness the times that George dropped by my office where we chatted about so many, many things. He was a scholar and a dear friend,” said Thomas College Professor Judy Hansen Childers.
“I liked working with George, he made many decisions, sometimes unpopular to some, but he always had our students and the institution’s best interest in mind. He loved to talk about interesting facts from the latest books or articles he had read at lunch. He was the most well-read person I have ever met,” said Thomas College CIO Chris Rhoda.
“I remember George called me at the hospital when my husband David had a stroke. He offered his sympathy and the help of the College for anything I might need. From that point on, he would give me a hug when he saw me, and I believed he needed the hug as much as I did as he was suffering from the passing of his wife,” said long-time professor Roberta Tibbetts. “George Spann was hired to do a job—get us solvent. He implemented the directives of our Board and succeeded in keeping Thomas College afloat. He attended Thomas sporting events regularly. He was a scholar and a historian. He loved to talk about his travels and knew about almost everything.”
A funeral service will be held at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, Eustis Parkway, Waterville at 11:00am on June 6, 2025. A reception at the George and Marty Spann Student Commons at Thomas College will follow the service. Donations in lieu of flowers can be made to the Margaret Marnet Scholarship Endowment at Thomas College, Waterville ME.
About Thomas College:
U.S. News and World Report consistently ranks Thomas College as a top college in Maine for social mobility. Our clear career focus and one-of-a-kind Guaranteed Job Program™ makes it possible to advance faster in the arts and sciences, business, and education. Earn an undergraduate degree in three years and then choose from a variety of in-person or online graduate degree programs that can be completed in one-year or two. Located in Waterville, Maine, Thomas College is your pathway to a promising future, guaranteed. For more information visit thomas.edu or contact MacKenzie Riley Young at [email protected] or 207-859-1313. Find us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn, and TikTok.