BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – Michael Thompson, director of institutional research at The College of Wooster in Ohio, has been named assistant provost and the director of institutional research and planning at Illinois Wesleyan University.
Thompson succeeds Mona Gardner, the Adlai H. Rust Professor of Insurance and Finance, who will retire from Illinois Wesleyan at the end of July.
Illinois Wesleyan President Richard F. Wilson announced Thompson’s appointment, which is effective August 1, 2007. “We are delighted that Dr. Thompson will bring his expertise to Illinois Wesleyan,” said Wilson. “His knowledge and leadership skills will be strong assets to the university.”
In his role at Illinois Wesleyan, Thompson will report data to the federal and state governments, provide information to college guidebooks and conduct special data-collection and analysis projects for administrators and university committees. He also will work closely with the university Provost Beth Cunningham, the provost’s staff and the faculty on assessment initiatives.
Thompson earned both his master’s degree in sociology in 1997, and his doctorate in higher and adult education in the Department of Leadership in 2000, from The University of Memphis. He earned his bachelor’s degree in social science from Cumberland University in Lebanon, Tenn., in 1995, and his associate’s degrees in communications media and liberal arts in 1993 from St. Clair County Community College in Port Huron, Mich.