Thompson Named University of Southern Mississippi NCAA Faculty Athletics Representative

Dr. Alan Thompson, Associate Professor and Distinguished Teaching Fellow in the School of Criminal Justice, Forensic Science and Security, has been named The University of Southern Mississippi's NCAA Faculty Athletics Representative (FAR).

The NCAA requires that a member institution's president or chancellor designate a member of the faculty or administrative staff as FAR to represent the institution and its faculty with the NCAA and the university's athletic conference. Among his many duties as FAR, Thompson will advise the Athletics Department regarding budgetary matters, policy and governance, as well as compliance. He replaces Dr. Dennis Phillips, who recently retired, in this role.

“I want to thank (University of Southern Mississippi President) Dr. (Rodney D.) Bennett for his strong confidence in my ability to serve the institution and our student athletes in this important capacity,” Thompson said. “We also certainly owe a debt of gratitude to Dr. Phillips for his distinguished service in this role over the past 15 years.”

Thompson will also serve as the voice of the faculty on all matters relating to intercollegiate athletics.

“I very much look forward to working with (Director of Athletics) Mr. (Jon) Gilbert and his dedicated staff to ensure that all of our student athletes excel in their chosen academic majors and graduate from USM with a full appreciation for the value of a college education,” Thompson added. “Their exposure to critically important disciplines such as philosophy, history, world literatures, political science and the arts, among others too numerous to list, will prepare them well to become productive members of a thinking public, and alumni of whom we can all be proud.”

Thompson is a longtime, tenured faculty member at The University of Southern Mississippi (USM). He began his career at USM in 2000 as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Criminal Justice. Following a brief time as a faculty member at Old Dominion University from 2005 to 2007, Thompson returned to USM as an Associate Professor in 2007.

Among other leadership roles and honors, Thompson

• has served as the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) Chapter President at USM since 2015;
• is a Distinguished Association of College and University Educators (ACUE) Teaching Scholar;
• previously served as the Director of the First Year Foundations Program for all new faculty; and,
• was the recipient of the 2018 Excellence in University Service Award.

“We look forward to working with Dr. Thompson to continue the success in supporting the advancement of our student-athletes here at The University of Southern Mississippi,” Gilbert said.