President Emeritus

Throughout his tenure, Thompson has worked to change the way people think about art and design and championed the need for businesses to embrace creativity to thrive in the 21st-century global economy. At the end of his term, Thompson received the honorary title of President Emeritus from the Board of Trustees in recognition of his service and indelible legacy.

Thompson is a former President of the Association of Independent Colleges of Art and Design (AICAD) and a current member of its Board, and is the former Chair and current Board member of the President’s Council of the Independent Colleges and Universities of Florida (ICUF). Thompson also serves on the boards of many local arts and civic organizations, including the Arts and Cultural Alliance of Sarasota County; the Greater Sarasota Chamber of Commerce; the Community Health Corporation for Sarasota Memorial Hospital; and the Economic Development Corporation of Sarasota County Partners Council.

Prior to joining Ringling College, Thompson was President and CEO of the Flint Cultural Center in Michigan, a 30-acre campus encompassing the nine leading cultural institutions of the Greater Flint Area. He served in that capacity from 1993-1999.

Before moving to Michigan, he was the founding Director and CEO of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum in Cleveland, Ohio. Thompson was responsible for making the Hall of Fame a reality, including raising the funds necessary to create it, working with architect I.M. Pei to design it, and preparing for construction.

In his earlier career, Thompson served for seven years as Special Assistant to the President of The Ohio State University, where he handled legal issues affecting the University and served as a management troubleshooter for various administrative departments.

Thompson is both a lawyer and an educator. He earned his Juris Doctorate summa cum laude from The Ohio State University and practiced law for a number of years with a large firm in Columbus. He holds a Master of Science in educational administration and counseling from California State University Los Angeles. He was an adjunct professor in the Honors department at the University of Michigan-Flint, and taught as an adjunct professor in the College of Law at Ohio State for six years.

Thompson has received numerous honors and awards including, the 2026 Spirit of Sarasota Award from the Sarasota Chamber of Commerce; the 2026 Lifetime Achievement Award from SRQ Magazine; the 2025 Boys & Girls Club Leadership Award; the 2023 Legacy of Leadership Award from the West Coast Chapter of the American Jewish Committee (AJC); the 2020 Sarasota County Heritage Award; the 2018 Founders Award from Florida Campus Compact; listing by Florida Trend magazine as one of its 2018, 2019, and 2023 500 Most Influential Executives in the State of Florida; the 2018 Greatness Beyond Measure Leadership Award; the 2018 Great Disruptor award, given jointly by Senior Friendship, Age Friendly Sarasota, Jewish Family Services, and OLLI at Ringling College; and the inaugural 2019 Manatee Arts Education Council Arts Education Advancement award, which will bear his name.

Thompson also received the 2012 Boundary Crosser Award from Sarasota County Openly Plans for Excellence (SCOPE) and the 2009 Schoenbaum Humanitarian Award from The Salvation Army.

Thompson was the first person ever inducted into the Community Video Archives Hall of Fame twice, once in 2010 and again in 2019, in recognition of his significant impact to the community. He received the 2009 Chairman’s Cup Award from the Greater Sarasota Chamber of Commerce for exceptional service to the community. Creative Tampa Bay named him a “Creative Catalyst” in 2008, while The Wellness Community of Southwest Florida honored him with the Stephen H. Goldman, M.D. Keystone Award. In 2007 he received the Civic Achievement Award from the West Coast Chapter of the American Jewish Committee (AJC), the Arts Leadership Award from the Sarasota Arts Council, and was one of three finalists in Tampa Bay CEO magazine’s Tampa Bay CEO of the Year.

Arts Management News recognized Thompson as Arts Administrator of the Year in 1998 for exemplary and distinguished work in the field of arts administration. He is a recipient of the Friend of Education Award by Delta Kappa Gamma Society International for outstanding endeavors in support of education; the National Association of College University Attorneys Fellow award for exemplary service on behalf of college and university clients; and in 2005 received the Person of Vision Award presented by the Board of Governors of Prevent Blindness Florida.