Thomas Thompson
Biography
Lyke Thompson became the director of the Center in January, 2003. He has sought to streamline the administrative operations of the Center while improving the quality and increasing the quantity of research. He has worked to increase the number of doctoral-level staff and the range of projects undertaken with WSU faculty and staff.
Dr. Thompson has been teaching at Wayne State for about 21 years as a professor in the Department of Political Science and in the former College of Urban, Labor and Metropolitan Affairs. He teaches program evaluation, urban administration, Detroit Politics, and Michigan Politics.
Dr. Thompson's research specializes on program evaluation and policy analysis, with recent concentration on community and economic development, the effects of lead poisoning on children, disability policy, and the impact of term limits on state legislatures. He has published in the areas of urban labor markets, citizen attitudes about service delivery, welfare reform, service collaboration, evaluation theory and design, early childhood education, and training for people with disabilities.