Thompson to Assist in Implementation of Tennessee Desegregation Settlement - Wendy Thompson - Brief Article

Black Issues in Higher Education, Feb 15, 2001

NASHVILLE

Wendy Thompson, formerly university counsel and assistant to the president at Middle Tennessee State University in Murfreesboro, has joined the Tennessee Board of Regents' central office staff as special assistant to the Chancellor for Geier implementation, a position mandated by the stipulation of settlement in the Geier lawsuit.

After 32 years, the Geier case was finally settled last month, when a federal district judge approved an agreement designed to eliminate the last vestiges of segregation in Tennessee's colleges and universities by dropping racial enrollment goals. Though the settlement affects other state colleges and universities, helping historically Black Tennessee State University in Nashville attract more White students is the centerpiece of the new plan (see Black Issues, Feb. 1).

Prior to joining the staff of Middle Tennessee State University in 1993, Thompson was associate general counsel at the University of South Florida and prior to that, a trial court law administrator of the year by the MTSU Office of Multicultural Affairs in 1995 and 1997. She is a member of the National Bar Association and the National Association of College and University Attorneys.

The Tennessee Board of Regents is the nation's sixth largest higher education system, governing 45 postsecondary educational institutions. The system includes six universities, 13 two-year colleges and 26 technology centers, providing programs to more than 180,000 students in 90 of the state's 95 counties.