OU Provost Amy Thompson honored with Distinguished Alumni Award from Central Michigan University

Oakland University Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs Amy Thompson, Ph.D., has received Central Michigan University’s 2026 Distinguished Alumni Award, the university’s highest honor for alumni.

Given by the CMU Alumni Association, the award recognizes notable CMU alumni who have achieved professional excellence, demonstrated service to the CMU community and engaged in actions that reflect proudly on the university.

“I am deeply honored to return to my alma mater to receive this incredible honor,” Thompson said.  “My CMU undergraduate experience was transformational as a first-generation college student. I have fond memories of my time there and continue to stay connected with many faculty and staff there.” 

A 1997 graduate of CMU, Thompson is a nationally recognized public health scholar and higher education leader whose career has been shaped by the education and community she found as a first-generation college student at the university.

She earned a Bachelor of Science in public health education and health promotion from CMU’s Herbert H. and Grace A. Dow College of Health Professions. As a student, she served as president of her sorority, Alpha Sigma Alpha, and led the public health student organization Eta Sigma Gamma, which earned the national organization’s top chapter honor during her tenure.

Dr. Thompson is pictured with her Distinguished Alumni Award plaque.

She went on to earn a master’s degree and Ph.D. from the University of Toledo, where she joined the faculty and rose through a series of academic leadership positions, including vice provost of faculty affairs, faculty senate president, senior vice provost of academic affairs and acting dean of the College of Graduate Studies.

She later served as provost and senior vice president for academic affairs at Wright State University before returning to Michigan in 2025 to become Oakland University’s provost and executive vice president for academic affairs.

Alongside her administrative career, Thompson has built a national reputation as a public health scholar. She has authored more than 80 publications, delivered more than 150 peer-reviewed presentations and secured more than $1.7 million in grant funding. She has served as president of the Society for Public Health Education (SOPHE) and as national president of Eta Sigma Gamma, the same organization she led as a CMU undergraduate. In 2026, she was named a SOPHE Distinguished Fellow.

Thompson also founded the Center for Health and Successful Living, an interdisciplinary initiative that connected students with more than 7,000 community members, including underrepresented cancer survivors.

Throughout her career, Thompson has remained closely connected to CMU. She has returned to campus as the Elizabeth Lockwood Wheeler lecturer and as a speaker for the Loren B. Bensley Jr. Public Health Awards Banquet, where she also received the Bensley Honor Award, the highest recognition CMU’s Eta Sigma Gamma chapter gives to a professional.

Thompson has mentored CMU students and provided internship opportunities, and she now works with CMU Provost Paula Lancaster to explore new partnerships and collaborations between CMU and Oakland.