Rich Thompson

Background

Rich Thompson joined the W&M Civic & Community Engagement after serving as the Associate Director in William & Mary’s student unions.

He received a bachelor’s degree from Western Carolina University in Parks & Recreation Management and a master’s degree from Western Illinois University in Student Activities & Student Union Administration. Prior to his tenure at William & Mary, Rich served at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, Bridgewater College, and Centenary College in the areas of Student Activities, Campus Recreation, First Year Experience, Club Advisement, and Residence Life. In all of his roles, his passion has always been developing students’ leadership and civic engagement skills.

In Civic & Community Engagement, Rich advises Williamsburg Engagement, Service Saturdays, and William & Mary's award-winning Voter Engagement committee.  With all his efforts, Rich encourages the students that he advises to be critical thinkers, instigators of change, role models, and ethical leaders in our communities. The greatest compliment for Rich is when a student asks him for a letter of recommendation or learns that a student lands their first job due to the practical experiences that they developed as being a participant in one of the programs he advises.

Rich is a also a recognized engaged citizen and bicycle advocate not only on William & Mary’s campus but locally, regionally, and at the state level. He serves as William & Mary’s representative on the Historical Triangle Bicycle Advisory Committee, serves on the board of directors for the Birthplace of America Trail Foundation, and was one of the initial community advocates for the development of the Virginia Capital Trail.  Some of his proudest advocacy accomplishment have been tied to successfully supporting William & Mary students lobby for more bicycle infrastructure projects and educational programs both on campus and in the community.  Partially due to his activism, both William & Mary and the City of Williamsburg have been awarded Bicycle Friendly status by the League of American Bicyclists, and Rich was awarded the 2011 President’s Award for Service to the Community for his efforts.

Rich also actively promotes the values of sustainability, health and wellness, and recreation/destination tourism models on campus and in the local community. More than anything, Rich is motivated by bringing diverse people together with a variety of assets to serve something larger than themselves.