Al S. Thompson, Jr., vice chancellor for Student Affairs and chief diversity officer at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, talked about his goals and ideals at an open forum on campus for the senior vice president for Student Affairs position.

Thompson, who is the second of three candidates interviewing to replace retiring Senior Vice President for Student Affairs Tom Hill, is a graduate of the University of Iowa and St. Mary’s University. He hosted the open forum at 9 a.m. Monday in the Memorial Union.

Thompson said his experience at Iowa led him to get involved in higher education.

“I would have been troubled if I walked across the University of Iowa’s stage and didn’t care for the university,” Thompson said. “I want the same experience for our students. I want them to walk across the stage and feel valued, loved and that this is their alma mater, this is their place, this is their home.”

Thompson’s ultimate goal is to see students not only graduate but graduate happily and be readily able to give back to their community.

“I want students to be able to give back, not just to this campus but Ames, the state of Iowa and the United States of America,” he said.

Apart from giving back and watching students succeed, Thompson is focused on developing students at a level they are able to transform and succeed.

“My vision is to engage students along their transformational journey to develop self-confidence, a sense of purpose, resiliency and active citizenship,” Thompson said. “Key words are that transformational journey, think about it … they don’t leave the same way they came. … Getting a degree is critical … but they have to have a purpose of what they’re going to do once they have that.”

Thompson said he would help students transform by making more opportunities such as internships, mental health support, résumé builders and study abroad options readily available to students. He also plans to keep Iowa State’s student experience intact.

“The pride of your campus is being student-centered,” he said. “Being student-centered is not just a buzzword at Iowa State, there’s a reality to how you operate. You pride yourself as a campus that does not want students to become a number … every student has value, every student has a place, to the point of being an individual versus being a group or a number.”

One of Thompson’s biggest issue he has worked to solve at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point and hopes to continue to change at Iowa State is the problem with diversity. He said there must be a sense of trust among students, and the ability to have honest discussions allows an understanding of the problems he faces.

“We cannot put our heads in the sand and hope it goes away in the sense of activism,” he said. “There must be … discussions at the forefront to allow us to come to an understanding of where we are going to go next.”

Thompson said what makes him a great candidate for this position is his availability to students and ability to solve problems.

“I am a believer in an open-door policy, my door will be open to anyone,” he said. “… I’m also a problem solver; if there’s a problem, I’m going to solve it. I also love to have a good time. I believe in humor, laughter and enjoying the workplace.”