[8] Thole left the University of Wisconsin–Madison in 1999 to join the faculty at Virginia Tech, where her husband Michael Alley also worked.
As a result of her research success, Thole became the first woman at Virginia Tech to be awarded an endowed engineering professorship in 2005.
[11] In this role, she advocated, recruited, and retained girls and women in science, technology, engineering, and math fields.
[14] During her tenure at Penn State, Thole established the Engineering Ambassadors Network, a program that provided undergraduate students with professional skills.
[15] She also made significant technical contributions in "pioneering new cooling strategies for airfoils in gas turbine engines, which allows for higher operating temperatures and reduced fuel consumption.
"[18] In 2019, John J. Brennan established the Professor Karen A. Thole Annual Scholarship for Diversity in Engineering.
[20] In May 2024, Thole was announced as the University of Michigan College of Engineering's first female Robert J. Vlasic Dean.