About the Provost

The Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost is the chief academic officer of the University. The Provost advises the President on all matters pertaining to undergraduate and graduate education, research, and creative endeavors among faculty and students. The Provost advances the institution's public service mission and articulates a strategic vision for the academic affairs division.

The Provost also has responsibility for leaders who oversee academic and administrative units within academic affairs, including the Deans of the Colleges, Schools, and Graduate Education, the Associate Provost for Faculty Affairs, the Associate Provost for Undergraduate Education, Quality Assurance, and Accreditation, the Associate Provost for Operations, the Vice President for Research, and the Director of the Eye Research Institute.

Amy Thompson, Ph.D., became Oakland University’s Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost on March 31, 2025.

Dr. Thompson has 20 years of higher education experience and 10 years of progressively advanced administrative leadership experience. As OU’s chief academic officer, she oversees academic affairs initiatives and programs, including student success, community engagement, grant funding, and program accreditation and assessment. Dr. Thompson has demonstrated the ability to lead teams collaboratively toward success in all these areas.

Before joining OU, Dr. Thompson was Provost and Senior Vice President of Academic Affairs at Wright State University (WSU). She oversaw its six colleges and units, including the Boonshoft School of Medicine, the Lake Campus in Celina, the University Libraries, Research and Sponsored Programs, and Counseling and Wellness Services. Dr. Thompson was also Professor of Public Health at the Boonshoft School of Medicine. At WSU, she oversaw efforts to increase grant funding, secured millions of dollars in grants to fund student completion scholarships, collaborated with WSU’s enrollment management team to increase new student enrollment, created committees to improve first-year retention rates, and implemented an array of student success measures to decrease failing grades.

Before her tenure at WSU, she served as Senior Vice Provost of Academic Affairs and Acting Dean of the College of Graduate Studies at the University of Toledo (UT/Ohio). She was also a faculty member at Mississippi State University and Kent State University.

She has published over 80 peer-reviewed journal articles, secured over $1.7 million in grant funding, and published and presented her scholarship nationally and internationally.

She earned her B.S. in Public Health from Central Michigan University, and an M.S.Ed. in Public Health and a Ph.D. in Health Education from UT.