Rockefeller's Thompson retiring; will tinker in state Capitol 'lab'

Joel Stashenko

The Business Review

Frank Thompson has always thought of Albany as a sort of Wood's Hole of politics and government, a "great laboratory" where his students could see the workings--and failures--of public policy up close.

"I can't think of any other place where you would get exposed to the particular mix or sort of chemistry of this high-level of professionalism and yet straight-out, fairly intense partisan politics, too," Thompson said. "It is an interesting combination."

Thompson announced his retirement as dean of the University at Albany's Rockefeller College of Public Affairs and Policy effective in January. Associate Dean Helen Desfosses, the former president of the Albany Common Council, will be interim dean as the school conducts a national search for Thompson's successor.

Thompson, 61, said he will teach at UAlbany, conduct research and write. He plans to initially take a sabbatical to do research at Rutgers University for a book about the Medicaid system, one of his specialties.

"Medicaid is a colossus," he said. "It's an absolutely fascinating and extraordinarily complex program."

Highly rated program

Thompson has led the graduate Rockefeller public affairs program since his arrival in 1988 from the University of Georgia. He received the dean's title during a 2000 reorganization of the UAlbany program.

The program has about 550 undergraduate majors in political science and 350 graduate students working toward degrees in political science, public administration and public policy.

Earlier this year, U.S. News and World Report ranked the Rockefeller graduate program as ninth best in the country out of 250 colleges offering advanced degrees in public affairs and administration.

Thompson has brought his school to the "forefront of the nation's public policy schools," said UAlbany President Kermit Hall.

Catherine Bertini, a professor of public administration at the Maxwell School of Syracuse University, said Thompson has taken advantage of the Rockefeller school being in the state capital.

"It is such a wealth of knowledge that you can pick up on a practical basis or that you can do research on without having to leave town," said Bertini, who worked in the state Senate while earning a bachelor's degree at UAlbany in 1971. "That is the great advantage that Albany has."

Practical knowledge

Bertini and another UAlbany graduate, state Dormitory Authority Executive Director Maryanne Gridley, are on an advisory board to the Rockefeller school.

Gridley said Thompson has actively sought internships and other partnerships with government so that UAlbany public affairs students come out of college with a "whole bunch of knowledge" about their opportunities at the Capitol.

"We take great pride in our commitment to internships, to experiential learning," Thompson said. "A great many are involved working in government. It is in that sense that it is a special laboratory."

Thompson said he has reached the point in his career where he was either ready for a higher administrative job at a college or to focus again on the classroom and scholarship.

"I have been doing this terrific job--and it is a great job--for some 17-plus years," he said. "As much as I have enjoyed it, I have research I want to do. I love teaching students."

Under his tutelage, the Rockefeller school developed a graduate certificate in public security in collaboration with the state Office of Homeland Security and a specialty in financial market regulation.

Thompson said he has seen little cynicism about government among Rockefeller students, even when they are observing the gridlock that is a hallmark of New York state government and Capitol politics.

"The sort of students who get into the programs of Rockefeller College at both the undergraduate and graduate levels tend to see government as a potential agent of good for society," he said. "They tend to care about government and think it can do good."

The same goes for the legislators, staffers and bureaucrats who populate state government, according to Thompson.

"I have great respect for them as individuals," he said. "They are, by and large, a very talented and smart group. Moreover, I enjoy them personally."

jstashenko@bizjournals.com | 518-640-6808