Thomas Whitley

Thomas Youngie Whitley Sr. (January 4, 1916 – September 11, 2011) was an American academic administrator who served as the first president of Columbus State University from 1958 to 1979. He also oversaw the consolidation of the Columbus and Muscogee County, Georgia governments.

Early life Whitley was a native of south Georgia. He was born in Mystic, Georgia on January 4, 1916. In May 1958, Whitley became the founding president of Columbus College, now called Columbus State University.

He was president of the Georgia Association of Junior Colleges and served on the board of the Columbus College Foundation, and the Southern Association of Junior College Presidents. He was selected as the Citizen of the Year in 1979 by the Columbus Life Underwriters Assocations.

The Columbus State University Alumni Association has presented its annual Thomas Y. Whitley Distinguished Alumnus Award since 1980. The Thomas Y. Whitley Clock Tower at Columbus State University was dedicated in his honor in 1991. The university has the Thomas Y. Whitley Scholarship Fund. He served on the board of the Columbus Chamber of Commerce, the Citizens and Military Council, First Federal Savings and Loan, the Medical Center, and the Symphony Endowment Fund. He was president of the Kiwanis club of Columbus and was a member of the Chattahoochee Valley Beekeepers Association, the Candun Club, the Men's Garden Club, First Presbyterian Church, and Ray Memorial Presbyterian Church in Monroe, Georgia.

Whitley and his wife moved to Social Circle, Georgia in 1986. He died on September 11, 2001, in Social Circle at the age of 85 from complications related to Alzheimer's disease. He was buried in the Social Circle City Cemetery.