LARRY R. THOMPSON
PRESIDENT, RINGLING COLLEGE OF ART AND DESIGN, SARASOTA
Thompson has been president of the 1,600-plus-student school for 22 years. A “left-brain guy in a right-brain environment,” Thompson has an undergraduate degree in math and is also a lawyer who practiced for years before entering academia. Earlier in his career, he raised money for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and served as the hall’s founding director and CEO. In 2019, Ringling opened its Sarasota Art Museum of Ringling College.
| EDUCATION | Wittenberg University (BA), Ohio State University (JD), California State University Los Angeles (MS) |
| WOULD CHANGE about Florida | I would change continued emphasis on STEM-STEM-STEM. It is legacy thinking, not thinking for the future. ... The most important skill that people will need in the future is creative thinking. |
| ADMIRES | Teri Hansen, president of the Charles and Margery Barancik Foundation in Sarasota. She is a true visionary in the non-profit world and is extremely articulate, energetic, creative, sensitive, caring and strong. |
| READING | The Code Breaker, by Walter Isaacson |