Encourages students to think critically.
Clay Thomas is an Assistant Teaching Professor of Management and Entrepreneurship in the Ivy College of Business at Iowa State University, contributing to the Business & Economics faculty. He earned his Ph.D. in Sociology from Indiana University in 2021, with a Ph.D. minor in Social Science Approaches to Health and Healing Systems, an M.A. in Sociology from Indiana University in 2015, a Preparing Future Faculty Certificate in college pedagogy from Indiana University in 2017, and a B.A. in Sociology and French, summa cum laude, from Chapman University in 2013. Thomas's research specializations include professional authority and autonomy, emotions, organization theory, and qualitative methods, often applied to healthcare organizations. His work explores topics such as nurse practitioner autonomy amid physician dominance, stigma management strategies for workers with concealed mental health conditions, feeling rule management in palliative care, and cooperation between infection preventionists and physicians.
Since joining Iowa State University in 2021, Thomas has published in leading journals, including 'COVID-19 and Nurse Practitioner Autonomy: A Quantitative Analysis and Analytic Narrative of Nurse Practitioner Professionalization Amid Physician Dominance' in Health Sociology Review (2025, with Feyereisen, McConnell, and Puro), 'Professional in Practice: Stigma Management Strategies of Workers with Concealed Mental Health Conditions' in Work and Occupations (2024, with VanHeuvelen and Mukherjee), 'Feeling Rule Management and Relational Authority: Fostering Patient Compliance in Palliative Care Consultations' in Organization Studies (2023, with Mukherjee), 'Physician Dominance in the 21st Century: Examining the Rise of Non-Physician Autonomy through Prevailing Theoretical Lenses' in Sociology of Health & Illness (2021, with Feyereisen, McConnell, and Puro), and 'A New Kind of Gatekeeper: The Increasing Prevalence of Advanced Practice Nurses as Case Managers in US Hospitals' in Health (2021, with Feyereisen, Puro, and McConnell). He has received the Early Achievement in Teaching Award from the Offices of the President and Provost at Iowa State University (2024), Term Faculty Early Career Achievement in Teaching from the Ivy College of Business Dean’s Advisory Council (2023), Early Career Award for Achievement in Teaching from the Department of Management and Entrepreneurship (2022), Best Paper Award from the Academy of Management Healthcare Management Division (2021), and Outstanding Reviewer Awards from Academy of Management divisions (2023). Thomas teaches courses such as Responsible and Ethical Leadership in Business and Introduction to the U.S. Healthcare Industry, and presents at conferences including the American Sociological Association and Academy of Management.
