Biography:

Dr. Thompson is the Dean of the College of Nursing and Health Sciences at the University of Massachusetts Boston in August 2017. Prior higher education positions include Provost and Vice Chancellor of Academic Affairs and Dean of Health Sciences. She has held public policy positions as the Director of Occupational Medicine and Safety in Baltimore and Special Secretary of Children, Youth and Families for Maryland where she developed programs and policies to improve quality of care for vulnerable populations of children including those in foster care, juvenile justice, special education and children with special health care needs. She has spent the majority of her career promoting policies and programs to improve the quality of life for children and youth. She was one of the first nurses to assess the characteristics of incarcerated youth, risk factors for delinquent behavior, and the importance of collaborative partnerships to promote healthy child development. She has published more than 100 articles, books, book chapters and abstracts. She has secured over $30 million in sponsored grants and contracts, over $6 million in a capital campaign and worked with the legislature to secure $40 million for a new building. More recently, she secured $20 million from the Life Sciences Fund in Massachusetts to create a Center for Nursing Innovation. She has received numerous awards including induction as a Fellow in the American Academy of Nursing, Phi Kappa Alpha, Sigma Xi, Trailblazer Award from the National Black Nurses Association, Selection as a RWJ Executive Nurse Fellow, and Invited participation in the White House Conference on Childcare and White House Delegate to Brazil. Two of her books have been recognized: Losing control: loving a black child with bipolar disorder by the American Sociologic Association; and Hard times healing hands by EdPress. She has served on numerous boards and commissions including the National Advisory Committee for the Nurse Faculty Scholar's Program by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the National Initiative on Children's Health Care Quality, the Urban League, the National Committee to Prevent Child Abuse, and the South Shore Health System. She earned both BSN and MSN degrees at Wayne State University (MI), and master's and doctoral degrees in public health from The Johns Hopkins University (MD).