Dr. Alton Thompson, the interim provost of North Carolina. A&T State University, whose regular duties are presiding as the dean of the School of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences, was recently inducted into the CSREES Hall of Fame.

Thompson is lauded for helping Cooperative States Research, Education, and Extension Service fulfill its mission of advancing agriculture, the environment, communities, and human health and well being.

Thompson’s induction into the Hall of Fame was Oct. 21 in Washington, during CSREES’s annual awards ceremony.

Established in 2004, the CSREES Hall of Fame recognizes individuals who have worked, coordinated, or supported activities exemplifying CSREES’s synergy of excellence in any combination of research, education, and Extension approaches on local, regional, national, or international levels, and have demonstrated a measurable and positive impact on the agency.

“To join such distinguished company is an accolade on its own, but to be inducted during the early stages of this award is even more of an accomplishment,” Thompson said. “I am humbled and honored.”
Thompson led the School of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences from July 2000 to July 2008, when he became interim provost of A&T.

He is committed to helping A&T realize its vision as a learner-centered community that develops and preserves intellectual capital through learning, discovery, engagement and operational excellence. As dean of the SAES, his energies have been focused on raising the School’s academic and administrative performance to the next level.

His collaborative and energetic leadership style helped advance the School’s student enrollment, public and private financial support, and service to local, national and international communities.

Thompson’s academic specialty is in the interface of statistics, research methods, demography and rural sociology. His research has resulted in the publication of 25 articles in refereed journals, seven book chapters, and a book titled Quality of Life Among Rural Residents in North Carolina: Community and Life Satisfaction.

Thompson is a member of the American Agricultural Economics Association, the Rural Sociological Society and the Southern Rural Sociological Association.

A native of Chocowinity, Thompson earned a Ph.D. in rural sociology from The Ohio State University.