[5][6] She won a Marshall Scholarship to study at the University of Sussex, receiving a Masters in 1995.

Her doctoral dissertation was Depicting Race and Torture on the Early Modern Stage.

[12] Thompson served as a Phi Beta Kappa Visiting Scholar, 2017-2018.

[18] As Director of the Arizona Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies, Thompson is the creator of RaceB4Race, an ongoing conference series and professional network community by and for scholars of color.

[20] Thompson has been described as 'a world-class scholar', an 'accomplished leader', a 'true innovator', and 'a major force'.