Karen Thomas
Position title: Associate Director for Academic Affairs Initiatives, Director of the Office of Online Student Success
Pronouns: she/her
Email: karen.thomas@wisc.edu
Karen Thomas serves as the Associate Director for Academic Affairs Initiatives in the Office of Academic & Career Success (OACS) at UW-Madison. In this role, she leads the Office of Online Student Success, providing holistic advising and career services to students in the UW-Madison Online undergraduate degree programs within the School of Human Ecology (SoHE) and the College of Letters & Science (L&S). Additionally, Karen coordinates and leads cross-campus efforts to support the academic advising community.
Karen holds a Master’s in Student Affairs Administration in Higher Education (MSEd.) from the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse and a Bachelor’s in Psychology and Human Resources from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater. Since 2008, she has held various roles in financial services, advising, student life, and leadership at UW-Madison. As a proud first-generation college graduate, Karen is passionate about advocating for students and fostering inclusive communities through intentional collaboration.
A Madison native, Karen enjoys exploring the city’s local restaurants, spending quality time with her family, especially her daughter, Raegan, and diving into home DIY projects.