William Preston Thomas was born on 8 April 1887 in Plain City, Utah to James Madison and Mary Geddes Thomas. In 1915 he married Lucile Hayball, with whom he had four children: Madison Thomas, William Thomas, Paul Thomas and Preston Thomas. Thomas received a B.S. degree from Utah Agricultural College in 1914, and was appointed extension agent for Weber County. He joined the faculty at his alma mater as assistant professor of Marketing Research following completion of his Master’s Degree at Cornell University in 1926. Later, he received his Ph. D. from Cornell in 1939. Thomas served as professor and department head of Agricultural Economics and Marketing from 1928 to 1952, and as Emeritus Professor through 1959. He passed away January 30, 1962 in Logan, Utah after four decades of service to the institution, the state and the nation.

Thomas distinguished himself as a promoter of Agricultural Cooperatives, and helped establish many local, state and Intermountain regional organizations. Thomas carried a heavy teaching load within the Department, mentoring over 250 graduates during his academic career. Simultaneously, he conducted research through the Utah Agricultural Experiment Station, authoring or co-authoring over 20 technical bulletins and circulars, including “Agricultural Cooperation in Utah,” an historical overview of cooperatives published in 1956. Among other prestigious positions he held, Thomas represented USU as President of the Western Farm Economics Association and Western Agricultural Economics Research Council. He frequently consulted on water resources applications with the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation and on economic issues for the USDA. His work on planning for the post-war farm economy merged his ideas on farmer cooperatives with other innovative economic principles to insure against an agricultural recession following World War II.

Over the course of his career Thomas also involved himself in local and civic affairs. He served as a member of the Ogden and Logan Kiwanis Club and as local chairman of the Boy Scouts. He was a director of the renowned Ogden Livestock Shows and participated on numerous agricultural committee boards in Weber County.