Dr. Donald and Mrs. Kathleen Wilson-Thompson
Dr. Donald Thompson is a professor emeritus in the department of Educational Leadership, Research, and Technology at Western Michigan University. He previously served as the Vice President for Research/Dean of the Graduate College, and Dean of the College of Education. Dr. Thompson began his academic career at the University of Michigan and held joint professorial appointments in Education and Urban Studies. Nationally, Dr. Thompson served as Division Director and Assistant Director of the Education and Human Resources Directorate for the National Science Foundation. Currently, Dr. Thompson serves as a consultant to numerous foundations, public agencies, and Fortune 500 corporations. He also chairs the Committee on Strategy and Learning and serves on the Charitable Activities and Audit & Accountability Committees. Notably, Dr. Thompson has served on Greater Texas Foundation’s board since 2014.
Ms. Wilson-Thompson joined Walgreen Co. in January 2010 as senior vice president and chief human resources officer. Following the strategic partnership between Walgreens and Alliance Boots announced in June 2012 and resulting in the merger of the two companies and formation of Walgreens Boots Alliance on December 31, 2014, Ms. Wilson-Thompson is currently the company’s executive vice president and global chief human resources officer. Prior to her role at Walgreens, she held several positions of increasing responsibility in the operations and legal departments at Kelloggs and left Kelloggs as senior vice president of global human resources to join Walgreens. She also worked as vice president and staff counsel of litigation and banking law for Michigan National Corporation in Farmington Hills, Michigan.
Ms. Wilson-Thompson earned a bachelor’s degree in English from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor and a Juris Doctorate and an LLM, master of laws in corporate and finance law from Wayne State University. In 2016, Ms. Wilson-Thompson earned the Distinguished Alumni Award from Wayne State University Law School. In addition to Bar membership for State of Michigan and the American Bar Association, in 2017 Ms. Wilson-Thompson was admitted to the Bar of the Supreme Court of the United States of America.Ms. Wilson-Thompson is a member of the Board of Directors at Tesla and Ashland Global Holdings Inc. She also serves on the Board of Directors for the Alumni Association of the University of Michigan and other not for profit community organizations. Additionally, Ms. Wilson-Thompson was named by Black Enterprise magazine in 2018 and 2017 as one of its “Top 300 Most Powerful Executives in Corporate America”.
Dr. Thompson and his wife Kathleen believe in reaching back as well as giving to students at UNT Dallas.
Actually, we are really reaching forward. University of North Texas students who will be able to take advantage of the endowment, are already engaged in activities aimed to change the world. The impact of their efforts on campus, in the community and within their families to make things better are notable. It is our hope that this endowment will give them even more encouragement to grow and develop new skills and guide them on their way.
Meaningful relationships inspired the Thompsons to establish endowments at UNT Dallas.
University of North Texas is special because of the relationship we have had with your Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs, Dr. Rosemary Haggett. She has been a friend and colleague stretching back to our days in Washington D.C. at the National Science Foundation. Her efforts in broadening participation and increasing opportunities for young people in the State of Texas inspired us to commit to the University of North Texas.
While looking forward to future projects which include international travel, Don and Kathleen are thoroughly engaged in building a legacy.
We have been fortunate to be able to fund a number of fellowships at other universities but one of the most rewarding is one that honors my wife’s mother. It is called the Lucille Bryant Wilson Scholarship Fund at the University of Michigan, her alma mater, designed to assist teacher candidates in the foreign languages broaden their educational experience by supporting international travel.