{"id":38405,"date":"2025-09-30T07:57:49","date_gmt":"2025-09-30T11:57:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/alumni\/?page_id=38405"},"modified":"2025-09-30T15:31:21","modified_gmt":"2025-09-30T19:31:21","slug":"thoms-distinguished-service-award","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/alumni\/awards-nominations\/alumni-awards-and-athletic-hall-of-fame-program\/thoms-distinguished-service-award\/","title":{"rendered":"Susan Stuckey Thoms \u201970 and David Thoms \u201870, Distinguished Service Award"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Susan Stuckey Thoms \u201970 and David Thoms \u201870, Distinguished Service Award<\/h1>\n\n\n\n
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\"David<\/figure>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Classmates and life mates (more than half a century married!) Susan and David Thoms have amplified service to others and to their alma mater by the power of two.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They labored and learned at K in the mid- to late-Sixties, the early years of the K-Plan. And they helped make that innovative program great by composing their own unique versions of it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Susan\u2019s included a health sciences major, career service as a research technician, study abroad in Germany, a Senior Individualized Project (SIP) on the cone cells of avian retinas, and hall-of-fame-level achievements as a Hornet swimmer (she was inducted into the College\u2019s athletic HOF in 2019).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

David\u2019s K-Plan: history major; career service as a public works clerk in Glencoe, Ill.; study abroad in France; and a SIP on urbanization and architecture in London.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After earning a M.D. from Wayne State University, Susan practiced ophthalmology, first in private practice, and later as a clinical professor of ophthalmology at University of Michigan Kellogg Eye Center. Since retiring, she teaches and mentors students at the Homer Stryker School of Medicine in Kalamazoo. \u201cBeing able to improve my patients\u2019 vision and quality of life brought me great joy,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

David earned a Masters of Urban Planning from Wayne State, a J.D. from the University of Detroit, and an LLM from Wayne State. He practiced law for 44 years, his work honored with numerous professional accolades, including a \u201cBest Lawyer in America\u201d recognition in the areas of tax law, estate planning, estate litigation, and non-profit law. He received further recognition as non-profit lawyer of the year in Detroit and the American Bar Association Vanguard Award for contributions in the area of non-profit organization law.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Susan and David extol (in word and deed) the lifelong influence of their K-Plans. \u201cThe College prepared me for the rigor of medical school,\u201d says Susan, \u201cand instilled a love of learning and travel that persists to this day.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cK fosters an openness to new ideas,\u201d adds David \u201cand develops the capacity to include these ideas to make them relevant and useful.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The couple pay forward their gratitude and commitment in countless acts of service. David was a College trustee for five years; Susan continues her service into her eighth year as a member of Women\u2019s Council. Both have long assisted students with career advice and served as mentors in law and medicine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They have been consistent financial donors to K\u2019s academic and athletic programs for more than 35 years and are members of the 1833 Society, the Stetson Society, and the Hornet Club.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They attend campus events and have hosted regional events in Detroit, Kalamazoo, and Washington, D.C.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Both are active in various nonprofit and community organizations, especially those that support the arts, better health, music, global diplomacy, and French-American understanding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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