[1] After graduation from North Carolina Central University, Thompson worked in a number of capacities at several institutions.
It was Sanford who encouraged Thompson to enroll in a doctoral program at Duke University, which had been developed to train potential college presidents.
As a part of a class assignment, Thompson interviewed former University of North Carolina President William Friday.
[2] On November 1, 1980, Thompson was appointed as interim Chancellor of North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, where he served for one year.
[1] In 1985, partially upon the recommendation of Dr. Friday, Thompson was selected as the 8th chancellor of Winston-Salem State University.