BRIEF BIOGRAPHY

William E. Thompson was born and raised in Tulsa , Oklahoma and was the first member of his family to receive a high school diploma. He received his bachelor's degree from Northeastern State University , a master's degree from Southwest Missouri State University , and earned his Ph.D. in sociology from Oklahoma State University . Professor Thompson has authored and coauthored more than thirty articles that have been published in professional journals, including several that have been reprinted in textbooks and anthologies. He is the coauthor of Society in Focus: An Introduction to Sociology (now in its 5 th edition), which is one of the leading textbooks in introductory sociology courses, and Juvenile Delinquency: A Sociological Approach (in its 6 th edition), a leading textbook in the area of delinquency studies. He also has coauthored an anthology on classic and contemporary readings in juvenile delinquency, and a small treatise on sociology and mass media.

Thompson began his college teaching career at the University of Tulsa . He spent the next ten years at Emporia State University , where he served as Chair of the Division of Sociology, Family Sciences, and Anthropology. Thompson then moved to Texas A&M University-Commerce, where he served five years as Head of the Department of Sociology and Criminal Justice. Currently, he is a Professor of Sociology and Criminal Justice and the Director of Mayo College, a student-oriented residential learning community for first-year students. He has also taught for the University of Southern Mississippi in the British Studies Program in London and the Caribbean Studies Program in Ocho Rios , Jamaica .

In 1993, Thompson received an Outstanding Teaching Award from the Texas Association of College Teachers, and in 1994, he won the Distinguished Faculty Award for Research and Teaching at Texas A&M-Commerce. In 1996, Thompson was named the Outstanding Alumnus by the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences at Northeastern State University . He also has won a number of teaching awards from various student and professional organizations.

Dr. Thompson has been married to his wife Marilyn for 32 years. She teaches Art at Commerce High School . They have two children: Brandon who graduated from Texas Tech University and is a Dallas Police officer, and Mica who graduated from Oklahoma State University and teaches 2nd grade at Commerce Elementary School .

For fun, Thompson plays drums in a rock 'n roll band.