Andrew Thompson – Academic Executive
Andrew has worked in higher education in the Italian, British and American educational systems for nearly forty years, first as a faculty member teaching English Literature and Language, then in a variety of executive and administrative roles. Currently the Director of the Rome Campus of the Lorenzo de’ Medici Institute, he has also been Executive Vice President and Chief Academic Officer of The American University of Rome, with responsibility for curriculum, curriculum development, hiring of faculty, accreditation and academic quality at this highly international American-accredited liberal arts and business college, which offers BA/BS degrees, including one in Film and Digital Media, and masters degrees. At the same institution he had a spell of eighteen months as Acting President, during which time he oversaw budgeting, hiring of faculty and staff, strategic planning and all operations of the university. He has also held positions as Associate Provost and Director of Assessment and Institutional Research. Within the British HE system Andrew was at the University of Wales (now the University of South Wales) as Associate Dean for Teaching and Learning) within the School of Education, working to create and implement a university-wide Learning and Teaching Strategy and on institutional audits and reviews by the UK’s Quality Assurance Agency. He has particular expertise in academic affairs, strategic planning, curriculum development and university accreditation, and has served as a reviewer for the Philadelphia-based Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE) for institutions in the United States and internationally. He continues to publish within his academic field: past publications have included a monograph and many chapters and articles on nineteenth-century English literature.