Dr. Thomas P. Dolan, 67, of Pine Mountain, Georgia passed away on December 11, 2019, at home. A requiem mass will be held at St. George's Anglican Church in Columbus, GA, on December 18th at 11am with Fr. Terrance Kellar officiating. A reception will be held in the parish hall following the service.
He was born June 25, 1952 in Springfield, IL, and married Susan Rood in 1973. After receiving a B.A. in Journalism from Drake University, he served in the Navy as a Naval Flight Officer, intelligence officer, and war planner for 20 years, during which he completed his M.A. in National Security Affairs from the Naval Postgraduate School.
He served as a flight instructor in an Air Force squadron on exchange duty, had two assignments with Army commands, and for a time worked with “agencies outside the Department of Defense.” His military background and expertise in global affairs led to his acquiring excellent speaking and writing ability in several languages.
After retiring from the military, he earned his Ph.D. in Political Science from Georgia State University in 1997. He taught political science with a focus on Asian affairs at Columbus State University from 2000 to 2017. During that time, Dr. Dolan served variously as Interim Chair, Acting Chair, and Chair of the Department of Political Science (now the Department of Politics, Philosophy, and Public Administration), stepping down for the last time in 2014.
While working at CSU, Dr. Dolan was interviewed more than 90 times for radio, newspapers, and TV (local, national, international) because of his extensive knowledge of politics and political affairs, especially in Korea and Japan. Of his 46 publications, 34 are encyclopedia articles specializing in the developing world, East Asia, and China. His travels at Columbus State have taken him to Japan, China (twice), South Korea (twice), North Korea (twice), Israel, and the UK (three times), including teaching at Oxford.
Tom retired from teaching in May 2017, and moved to Pine Mountain to live with his wife on a lake, and to build a boat. The boat is unfinished.
Dr. Tom Dolan is survived by his wife of 46 years, Susan, and his children, Danny (Fracena), Drew, and Hannah, his grandchildren, Sarina, Evelyn, and Juliet, by his sister Jeanne Cox, and his brother John.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Habitat for Humanity. Condolences may be offered to the family at www.shcolumbus.com.
