Thompson named planning director

GREENVILLE, NC  —   Robert J. Thompson, an East Carolina University professor and administrator, is the new director of the Office of Planning and Institutional Research.

Chancellor Richard R. Eakin announced the appointment of Thompson at a meeting of the ECU Board of Trustees on Friday. Thompson has served as acting director of the office for the past two years. He is also the chairman of the Department of Political Science—a position he resigned before accepting the planning post. “Dr. Thompson brings to the directorship a long and valued affiliation with East Carolina University,” said Eakin. “His record of accomplishments and his outstanding ability to work with faculty and staff should provide him with an excellent base from which to continue our efforts in strategic planning and our efforts to bring the planning processes into harmony with the budgeting of the university,” Eakin said.

A native of Ohio, Thompson joined ECU in 1981 as a professor in the Department of Political Science. Before moving to Greenville, he held teaching positions at Texas A&M University, Southeastern Oklahoma State University and at the University of Oklahoma. As a scholar, Thompson is an authority on public policy questions dealing with ethnic groups in western Europe. He has also conducted research comparing U.S. presidents with European prime ministers. As director of Planning and Institutional Research, Thompson will oversee ECU’s strategic planning efforts. Part of the job entails making sure the university’s spending decisions reflect the planning priorities established for the campus. The office also manages the collection of statistical facts including annual enrollment figures, graduation rates and fiscal expenditures.

Today’s appointment brings to a conclusion a national search to fill the position left vacant by Sue A. Hodges. Hodges left in 1991 to work on her doctorate.