Tommy Thompson, business manager in the MU College of Veterinary Medicine Department of Biomedical Sciences, is the recipient of a 2022 Dean’s Impact Award. CVM Dean Carolyn Henry, DVM, MS, surprised Thompson with the awards during the college’s winter breakfast Tuesday, Dec. 20.
The annual awards, established in 1993, honor faculty, staff and individuals from outside of the college for their sustained and significant positive impact on CVM programs. Thompson received the award presented to a member of the staff. Earlier this year, Gayle Johnson, DVM, PhD, professor emerita in the CVM Department of Veterinary Pathobiology, received the 2022 Impact Award for a faculty member.
Thompson, who has been with the college for more than 25 years, received several nominations and letters of support for the honor, with nominators citing his expertise in extramural funding and willingness to share his knowledge not only within his department, but also with his peers in other departments and colleges.
“He has become an in-house expert at both pre- and post-award budgeting, grant compilation and electronic filing for NIH and AHA, among others,” BMS Department Chair Doug Bowles wrote in his letter of nomination. “We have become quite spoiled for the full-serve approach Tommy has taken for years in making the grant process easy for the faculty. This is no doubt responsible for the success of our faculty in obtaining federal awards, over $25 million in awards since 2006 alone.”
Assistant Professor Nicole Nichols, PhD, credited Thompson for guiding her through the grant applications and progress reports necessary for her research funding.
“Tommy has helped me prepare many grant proposals to institutional, foundational, and external grant agencies,” she wrote in her nomination letter, noting that more than half of her proposals received funding. “And he has always been extremely supportive, patient and helpful.”
Sherry Oliver, PhD, PMP, senior research consultant in the CVM Office of Research and Graduate Studies, said Thompson’s knowledge of funding agency guidelines and helpful strategies increase the competitiveness of applications.
“I am grateful to know that I can reach out to Tommy at any time, and I am always confident that he will provide helpful advice and sound judgment when I have grant-related questions or simply need someone to listen to a problem or an idea that I want to share,” Oliver wrote.