Larry R. Thompson

President, Ringling College of Art and Design, Sarasota

Ringling College is one of the top art and design colleges worldwide. It has about 1,720 undergraduate students majoring in 13 disciplines, including top-rated computer animation, entertainment design, film, fine arts, game art, graphic design and illustration. The college, with 550 employees, recently opened a contemporary art museum for the public. Thompson has been president at Ringling College for 25 years.

EDUCATION: Wittenberg University (BA), California State University Los Angeles (MS), Ohio State University (JD)

IF I WERE GOVERNOR: Enhance and revamp education in the schools by teaching more about creativity and teaching creatively. There should be fewer multiple-choice tests and more tests with multiple answers. It is also critical to teach about our history — the good AND the bad.

MENTOR: Teri Hansen, executive director of the Charles and Margery Barancik Foundation. She is one of the very best nonprofit leaders I have ever known. She has compassion, wisdom, love of people, personality and common sense.

INSPIRING FLORIDIAN: Sen. Robert Graham was a true consensus builder among many different people from many different backgrounds — unusual in today’s divisive political community. He had a heart of gold and demonstrated it every day.

MOTIVATIONAL MANTRA
“Motivation is the art of getting people to do what you want them to do because THEY want to do it.”