Thomas K. Hearn Jr. (July 5, 1937 - August 18, 2008) was the 12th president of Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Hearn served as president from 1983 to 2005, which is the second-longest tenure in the university's history. During Hearn's time as president he oversaw the transformation of the school from a regional Southern Baptist college into one of the nation's premier independent universities.