Beyond the Track

STACY MILLIGAN-THOMAS, BA '98

SPORT: Track // PROFESSION: Business / Administration

Stacy Milligan-Thomas, BA ’98, says advice she received as a Dallas James Madison High School track standout in the early 1990s led her to Baylor. Her mother, who was an administrator in the business environment, encouraged her to always have a career goal
in mind.

Milligan-Thomas’ path became evident when Baylor, which boasted a lauded business school and a track program known as Quarter- Miler U, began recruiting her.

“Baylor checked all the boxes on my college wish list,” Milligan-Thomas says. “It was a Christian university; it had a great business school; it was close to home; and it had a high reputation of student-athletes graduating from the University overall.”

A six-time All-American at Baylor, Milligan-Thomas logged what at the time was a school-record mark in the 400 meters as a freshman. She earned two Southwest Conference titles and qualified for the 400-meter finals at the 1995 NCAA Outdoor Championships.

Milligan-Thomas was a member of the winning 4x400-meter relay team at the final Southwest Conference Indoor Championships in 1996, which was the program’s first on the women’s side. She remains on Baylor’s all-time individual performance lists for the 400 meters and the 4x400-meter relay.

Now, Milligan-Thomas is a project manager in the Dallas Human Resources Services Center (HRSC) for KPMG, a professional service company and one of the Big Four auditors. She became an employee in 2000, having previously worked with KPMG as a contractor in 1999.

For 16 years of her career with KPMG, she worked in the learning management department, moving through the ranks to become the talent and performance manager. She oversaw a 23-member team that provided
the issuance of continuing professional education (CPE) credit for the completion of firm-sponsored and external-learning training events, as well as guidance on the firm’s policies and procedures. This included two trips to Bengaluru, India, where she conducted departmental training.

Milligan-Thomas works directly with the director of HRSC and managers, in the learning management, document management and background administration departments. She also is a liaison between the HRSC and the KPMG Business Schools’ Technology Based Learning team.

“Today’s leaders must lead by example, empowering people to be their best, show accountability and flexibility while also understanding transformation and change,” she says. “Management should not impede your moral standards. Business should never change the heart of who you really are and your purpose in life.”

Milligan-Thomas, who earned a degree in telecommunications, says Baylor prepared her professionally in many ways. 

“The foundation of being at Baylor helped me grasp what I do now,” she says. “I spent countless hours in computer labs working on different assignments. That helped me with being structured and knowing how to manage larger projects.”

She remembers her Baylor experience fondly, especially the coaching and mentoring she received from legendary coach Clyde Hart. His wife Maxine, who taught management information systems in the Hankamer School of Business, was one of Milligan-Thomas’ favorite professors.

“It was a family feel,” she says. “Coach Hart recruited me, and he made my parents feel comfortable with letting me go to Waco for college. The whole experience—traveling with the team, the awards and accolades we were able to accomplish—it was wonderful.”

Milligan-Thomas says she works with several fellow Baylor alumni at KPMG, and she’s proud that her alma mater has a presence in the firm.

“I’m happy that I had the opportunity to attend Baylor,” she says.