thompson leaves a lasting Mark

Dr. Barry B. Thompson had a memorable 1994, which concluded with his being named Chancellor of The Texas A&M University System.

Thompson served as chancellor until his retirement in 1999, but his trek through higher education began at Tarleton some 40 years before, when, as a student, Thompson was tasked with traveling to Austin to lobby for the first “Tarleton Bill” to make the school a fouryear institution. Unsuccessful in that attempt, he graduated with an associate’s degree and headed to Lubbock for his bachelor’s from Texas Tech.

Working as a teacher and administrator in West Texas, Thompson earned his master’s, then, while heading the Secondary Education Department at Pan American University, earned his Ph.D. from Texas A&M.

From there he accepted Tarleton President William O. Trogdon’s offer of the newly-created position of executive vice president. When Trogdon abdicated the presidency in 1982, Thompson began his own era at the helm.

During the Thompson administration, Tarleton’s campus added a new business building, new facilities for hydrology and engineering and the school’s first co-ed residence hall. Additionally, Dr. Thompson was at the helm when Tarleton’s enrollment topped 6,000 students, and when baseball was reinstated as a varsity sport.

Before he left to take over at West Texas A&M in 1990, Thompson also pioneered computer online registration and created the campus Office of Minority Affairs, now called Multicultural Services.

Tarleton’s Barry B. Thompson Student Center, a hub of campus activity, houses 14 organizational offices, the Tarleton bookstore, a post office and the Texan Food Court. The building, originally called the Student Development Center at its 1994 dedication, was renamed in ceremonies in 2002 honoring Tarleton’s 13th president. Following Thompson’s death in 2014 at the age of 77, his memorial service was held at the Clyde H. Wells Fine Arts Center and the ensuing reception was at the Student Center bearing his name.