HAVERTOWN, PA, February 05, 2021 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Marquis Who's Who, the world's premier publisher of biographical profiles, is proud to present Thomas Miller Ricks, PhD, with the Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement Award. An accomplished listee, Dr. Ricks celebrates many years' experience in his professional network, and has been noted for achievements, leadership qualities, and the credentials and successes he has accrued in his field. As in all Marquis Who's Who biographical volumes, individuals profiled are selected on the basis of current reference value. Factors such as position, noteworthy accomplishments, visibility, and prominence in a field are all taken into account during the selection process.
Renowned for his expertise, Dr. Ricks retired in 2002 from Villanova University after a long and successful career as a social cultural historian, educator, administrator and independent scholar. Aligned with the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia as a history lecturer during the last three years of his academic commitments, he formerly served as the assistant director of the Center for Arab and Islamic Studies and as director of international studies at Villanova University in Villanova, Pennsylvania, between 1985 and 2002. He also held faculty appointments at Georgetown University and Macalester College in the United States and Birzeit University in Palestine. Furthermore, Dr. Ricks gained respect and expertise as a history teacher at the Tehran International School in Tehran, Iran. An international school with three campuses, the Tehran International School teaches both boys and girls at all levels.
During his career, Dr. Ricks enjoyed the opportunity to serve with the Americans Friends Service Committee (AFSC). Joining the Committee's Middle East panel in 1996, he played a role for 10 years. The AFSC has notably been present in the Middle East since 1949, where it seeks to empower those directly affected by conflict and to advocate for policy change.
A prolific author, Dr. Ricks has published numerous books as an author, editor and compiler, including "Turbulent Times: The Diaries of Khalil Totah, 1886-1955" in 2009 and "Notables, Merchants, and Shaykhs of Southern Iran's Towns and Ports on the Persian Gulf" in 2012. He also served in various editorial roles for highly-regarded scholarly journals, notably co-founding the "Review of Iranian Political Economy and History" and "Frontiers: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Study Abroad."
Dr. Ricks pursued an education at the University of Notre Dame, where he received a Bachelor of Arts in philosophy in 1961. He then planned to follow in the footsteps of his father by receiving a law degree and becoming an attorney. However, after one year in law school, Dr. Ricks was not convinced that it was the path he wanted to take. Applying to the Peace Corps, he spent two years volunteering in Mashhad and Mahabad, Iran, between 1964 and 1966. Shortly thereafter, he was accepted to Indiana University on a scholarship, where he completed a Master of Arts and Doctor of Philosophy in 1968 and 1975, respectively.
Over the years, Dr. Ricks has supported his career through membership with the American Historical Association, the Oral History Association, the Presbyterian Historical Society, and multiple other professional organizations relative to his work. He also served as a past president and former member of the board of directors of the Pennsylvania Council for International Education, as a former member of the board of directors of the Council for International Educational Exchange, the Council for International Exchange of Scholars, and the Center of Iranian Research and Analysis, and as a former treasurer of the International Society for Iranian Studies.
Receiving several fellowships and grants throughout his career, Dr. Ricks is most grateful for the Spencer Foundation Fellowship he received between 2005 and 2007, which included research in both Tehran and Palestine. A celebrated Marquis listee, he has been featured in over 40 editions of Who's Who in America, Who's Who in American Education, Who's Who in the East and Who's Who in the World.
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