Mark Thompson, Cree-Walker Professor of Business Administration, has been selected as one of the Augusta Metro Chamber of Commerce’s 10 Young Professionals to Watch. Dr. Thompson was among 29 nominations submitted to the Chamber for its 2009 list.
Individuals selected for the honor—a first for the chamber—will be featured in the Augusta Magazine June 2009 issue, and their nominations will be submitted to Georgia Trend magazine for its annual feature, Top 40 Under 40, for the state of Georgia
“I was surprised to find out that I was selected for the honor, especially being in Augusta for a short time. However, I have been here long enough to know of many talented individuals worthy of this distinction and for that, I am honored to be one of the top ten young professionals to watch,” says Dr. Thompson. “Also, I continue to have much support and encouragement in my outreach endeavors from both the academic and business community.”
Mr. Thompson joined Augusta State’s James M. Hull College of Business in 2007. “We are extremely proud to have Mark as part of the Hull College faculty. He is without any doubt one of our top 10, and the impact that he has made on our students and faculty has been significant,” says Marc Miller, dean of the Hull College of Business.
Dr. Thompson will be recognized, along with the other honorees, at a June 18 luncheon meeting of the Chamber where each will receive an award from Mayor Deke Copenhaver. The guest speaker for the luncheon will be Chadwick Boyd, founder of Lovely & Delicious Enterprises and a 2008 recipient of Georgia Trend’s 40 Under 40.
“As our inaugural recipients, we salute the achievements of these outstanding individuals, and we look forward to watching their professional careers grow and prosper,” says Sue Parr, chamber president.
The Augusta Metro Chamber of Commerce and Augusta Magazine are the sponsors for the new recognition program, which was developed by the local chamber to annually highlight ten young professionals between the ages of 25 and 35 in the Augusta area.
“We are most proud of the impact that Professor Thompson has made on our community through his outreach activities. We are confident that his impact thus far is only the tip of the iceberg and that he will turn out to be an extremely influential member of the Augusta community,” says Dr. Miller.
Dr. Thompson is regarded as an expert on economic issues, particularly economic consequences of severe weather events. He has authored numerous publications on labor market adaptations to weather crisis and has been quoted often in local as well as national media outlets including the Market Watch, Wall Street Journal, Talk Business with Roby Brock, Arkansas Business, and other electronic and internet media.
Before joining Augusta State, he was an economics forecaster at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. He also has served Stephen F. Austin University from 2003-2006 and has been a collaborating research associate at the Center of Natural Hazards Research at East Carolina University since 2005. He received his bachelor’s and doctoral degrees from Texas Tech University.
May 28, 2009
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