Thomas Mengel

Professor (Retired)

School of Leadership Studies

Fredericton

tmengel@unb.ca



Biography

From 2003 up to his retirement from the University of New Brunswick on March 1, 2023, Dr. Mengel has taught various courses in leadership studies and project management, both at the undergraduate and graduate level (University of Victoria, Trinity Western University, Athabasca University, University of New Brunswick). During his tenure at the University of New Brunswick, from 2005 to 2023, Dr. Mengel has taught and supervised students within the BIS and the BPhil programs. He also supervised Master and PhD students.

Since his retirement to Pouch Cove, NL, Dr. Mengel has been active in various volunteer community development projects. In 2024, he cofounded and now serves on the board of the Killick Coast North Seniors Co-operative and the Sunrise Funeral Co-operative. He also is an active member of the Social Justice Co-operative NL. Since 2025 he is actively involved in the Humanist Chaplaincy Program of Humanist Canada. More details can be found on his website at thomasmengel.com.

Education

  • Dipl. Päd. (M.Ed.); Adult Education – University of Bamberg, Germany, 1982
  • Lic. Theol.; Theology and Philosophy- University of Bamberg, Germany, 1983
  • Dr. Theol.; Church history and Religious Studies - University of Bamberg, Germany, 1983
  • M.A.; History and International Relations – University of Toronto, 1985
  • Dipl. Inform. (M.SC.); Computer Science – Distance University of Hagen, Germany, 1993

Select publications

Mengel, T. (2026). Co-operative Identity At Stake: How do we develop communities of compassion, care, and love? in: Communities, Issue 210, Spring 2026, pp. 48-50. Global Ecovillage Network United States.

Mengel, T. (2025). From Concept to Implementation – Co-operative Community Design for the Future. In: Creativity Matters, Issue 3, April 2025, Atlantic Centre for Creativity Online Journal, p. 78-89.

Mengel, T. (2025). The Future is Cooperative – What might it look like and how do we get there? in: Communities, Issue 206, Spring 2025. Global Ecovillage Network United States. pp. 31-34.

Mengel, T. (2025). Cooperative Futures Imagined – From Earth to Mars and back in: Communities, Issue 206, Spring 2025. Global Ecovillage Network United States. pp. 35-37.

Mengel, T. & Reid Fairhurst, W. (2024). Cohousing NL – Piloting Affordable Housing in a Sustainable Community Context. in: Schreiber, D. & Berge. Z. (2024). Futures Thinking and Organizational Policy, Vol 2. New York, NY: Palgrave Macmillan. pp. 133-155.

Mengel, T. (2023). Future of Leadership and Governance. in: Motto, V.; Glenn, J.; Berardo, M.; Peyton, J; Gardner, A; Mengel, T. & Mureithi, L. (2023). Futures Studies: Contributions and Sources. Washington, DC: Alternative Planetary Futures Institute, p. 15-21. Available here

Mengel, T. (2022). Notes From my Games and Film Review Desk – A Personal Insight into “2030” (Film) and “The Sunken City” (Game). Human Futures, 04/2022, p. 49f.

Mengel, T. (2022) Iron Man VR (Prologue): Exploring Superpowers Ad Nauseam, Human Futures, 03/2022, p. 44-46.

Mengel, T. & Stewart, M. (2021) (eds.). Practicing Gratitude. Independently published through Kindle Direct Publishing.

Mengel, T. (2021; ed.). Leadership for the Future: Lessons from the Past, Current Approaches, and Future Insights. Newcastle upon Tyne, UK: Cambridge Scholars Publishing.

  • Couturier, C., & Mengel, T.: Towards a leadership metamodel: Exploring over 2000 years of leadership theory evolution (Chapter 2)
  • Mengel, T.: Values-Oriented Leadership – Discovering meaning, exploring options, realizing values (Chapter 4)
  • Mengel, T.: From Earth to Mars and back – Exploring leadership perspectives for the future (Chapter 10)
  • Mengel, T.: Exploring meaningful futures together – An integrative approach to futures and values-orientation in theory and practice (Chapter 17)

Mengel, T. (2021). It’s all a game – Ready to play on the campus of the future? Human Futures, 08/2021, p. 22f.

Tantawy, M.; Herbert, K.; McNally, J.; Mengel, T.; Piperopoulos, P.; & Foord, D. (2021). Bringing Creativity Back to Entrepreneurship Education: Creative Self-Efficacy, Creative Process Engagement, and Entrepreneurial Intentions. Journal of Business Venturing Insights. Volume 15, June 2021, e00239.