STCC honors Henry M. Thomas III, community leader
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – Springfield Technical Community College mourns the passing of Henry M. Thomas III, a community leader whose decades of service and advocacy left a lasting impact.
For more than half a century, Thomas III served as president and CEO of the Urban League of Springfield. During his remarkable 52-year leadership tenure, which began when he was 25, the Urban League became a cornerstone institution. He advocated for educational access, workforce development, housing opportunity and economic inclusion.
Those who knew Thomas III remember not only his accomplishments but also his character.
Henry M. Thomas III
Dr. Kiyota Garcia, Assistant Vice President of Student Affairs & Interim Chief Equity Officer at STCC, was born and raised in Springfield and was one of the teens who thrived from her engagement with the Urban League and the role Thomas III played in her life.
"From being a young teen in the youth program, to receiving the Community Builder Youth Empowerment Leader Award at the 112th Anniversary Celebration, Henry Thomas III and the Urban League of Springfield have had a lasting impact on my life,” Garcia shared. “Henry’s leadership, guidance and belief in young people helped shape my growth, leadership and commitment to serving others. Although he has passed, his legacy continues to live on through the countless lives he touched, including mine."
The college, for many years, has had an important relationship with Henry Thomas and the Urban League. This includes how the offices and home of the Urban League of Springfield have been the Springfield Technology Park, which is more formally known as the STCC Assistance Corporation, an affiliate of the college. Also, STCC partnered with the Urban League to help introduce Springfield youth to science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education and career paths. Together STCC and the Urban League share a common mission: expanding educational and economic opportunity throughout Springfield and beyond.
In another connection, Thomas III produced and hosted “Urban League Community Focus,” a weekly radio program on WTCC (90.7 FM), the station owned by the college and broadcast from the STCC campus.
The current president and CEO of the Urban League of Springfield, Yvette M. Frisby, is the mother of STCC Trustee Anthony Moore, an alum from the Class of 2015.
Dr. John B. Cook, president at STCC, reflected on the decade he knew Henry Thomas III, remarking, "It was clear to me from the first weeks I arrived at STCC that Henry Thomas was an outsized champion of public higher education, and with his constant encouragement, invited all of us to live the value of education access and skill-building which remains at the heart of so many workforce conversations.”
Thomas III believed deeply in the promise and potential of Springfield’s residents and worked tirelessly to ensure that underserved communities had pathways to success. Thomas III, an attorney, was appointed in 2007 to serve on the five-campus University of Massachusetts Board of Trustees. He later became the first person of color to chair the board. His efforts led to a UMass Center at Tower Square in downtown Springfield, which would later be named after him in 2024 to honor his legacy.
As STCC reflect on his extraordinary life, the college expresses its deepest condolences to the family, friends, colleagues and loved ones of Henry M. Thomas III. We are grateful for his decades of leadership and unwavering commitment to our community.