A Dinosaur-Sized Legacy: Senior Lecturer Rich Thompson Retires After Decades of Service to Arizona

In the early 1990s, Rich Thompson discovered a previously unknown dinosaur species in southern Arizona, a finding that would eventually lead to Sonorasaurus thompsoni becoming Arizona’s official state dinosaur.

Yet when Thompson reflects on nearly five decades at the University of Arizona—as a student, researcher, instructor, administrator, mentor and donor—he shifts the focus from his own story to those of the students he taught and encouraged over the years.

After nearly 50 years as part of the U of A community, Thompson retired this summer as a senior lecturer in the College of Information Science, achieving emeritus status in recognition of his contributions to the college, its students and the broader university community.

His connection to Arizona began in 1978, when he took a summer calculus class between his junior and senior years of high school. Over the years, he earned bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees from the U of A, completed a postdoctoral fellowship, held technical editorships for American and Canadian journals, served as an American Institute of Physics Congressional Science Fellow in Washington, D.C., worked as the university’s assistant director of federal relations and, beginning in 2014, helped build the programs and community that would become today’s College of Information Science.
  

For all the roles he has held, Thompson is quick to identify the work that brought him the most joy: “The young people.”

“I especially like the section leader program,” he says, “but I really like working with young people—those who are super talented and hardworking, and those who are really struggling. I like them all a lot.”

That commitment to students became one of the defining features of Thompson’s career.

For more than a decade, he led the College of Information Science section leader program, helping undergraduate students develop teaching, leadership and mentoring skills while supporting their peers in foundational information science and programming courses. While section leaders are technically undergraduate preceptors, the title hardly captures the role. Most lead their own discussion sections, instructing fellow students, answering questions and helping learners build practical mastery of the skills introduced in class.

Under Thompson’s leadership, the program became more than a teaching model—it became a community. Each week, section leaders gathered for meetings Thompson simply called “community.” They shared meals, discussed teaching challenges, celebrated successes and built relationships that lasted long after graduation. The group regularly met outside the classroom as well, creating a culture of mentorship and belonging that became a hallmark of the program.
  

Many former section leaders have gone on to graduate school, careers in technology and leadership roles of their own. Some have returned to the college as instructors and mentors, continuing the cycle Thompson helped create.

“Even though my time as a section leader was only a year long, that experience, and Rich’s mentorship, are some of the most formative of my time as an undergraduate,” says Kapua Ioane, a 2023 Bachelor of Science in Information Science graduate who served as a college student ambassador while in the Master of Science in Information Science program from 2025 to 2026. “I got a deeper understanding of subject matter, made great friends that lasted years and got a new perspective on information science as a whole because of Rich’s belief in me.”

That culture of mentorship is one reason Interim Dean Catherine Brooks nominated Thompson for emeritus status. “His commitment to delivering high-quality, accessible and engaging instruction has had a profound impact on student learning,” she says. “He is especially known for his leadership of the College of Information Science section leader program, where he mentors student leaders and builds a collaborative instructional culture. His influence extends beyond the classroom; students consistently describe him as dedicated, approachable and deeply invested in their success.”

Brooks notes that Thompson’s impact can often be found in the simplest moments: “He’s that teacher who sits in his office with groups of students joining him, eating snacks, hovering around the space heater in the winter.” Those moments added up.
  

Over the years, Thompson helped shape portions of the college’s foundational curriculum and became one of the people students knew they could count on for advice, encouragement and support. He created several foundational courses, spearheaded the formation of the DataCats data science club (now AI Club) and was a tireless advocate for student success. In 2024 alone, he wrote 59 letters of recommendation for students pursuing scholarships, graduate programs and professional opportunities.

His dedication earned him the College of Information Science Instructional Excellence Award in 2024 and a nomination for the University of Arizona’s Gerald J. Swanson Prize for Teaching Excellence in 2025.

Yet even as his career evolved—from geosciences researcher to congressional fellow to information science educator—certain themes remained constant: curiosity, learning and a desire to help others discover their potential.

Those same qualities first led him into paleontology. Inspired by an interest in dinosaurs, Thompson taught himself to read geologic maps and began exploring Arizona’s landscapes in search of fossils. That pursuit led to the discovery of Sonorasaurus thompsoni, a long-necked sauropod that lived more than 100 million years ago and remains one of the state’s most celebrated paleontological finds.
  

The dinosaur may be what many people remember first. At the U of A, however, Thompson’s colleagues and former students know a different story.

They know the professor who stayed after class to answer questions. The mentor who encouraged students to pursue opportunities they hadn’t considered for themselves. The leader who built a program where students learned not only how to code and teach, but also how to support one another.

Retirement will bring a slower pace. Thompson plans to spend more time with family and, as he puts it, “just chill.” But he doesn’t expect to disappear from the college community entirely.

As senior lecturer emeritus, Thompson plans to remain involved with the section leader program, helping preserve its culture and supporting future generations of student leaders. He will participate in hiring, orientation and gatherings with section leaders, serving as both mentor and institutional memory for a program that remains close to his heart.

For someone whose University of Arizona story began nearly half a century ago, it seems fitting that the final chapter is not really an ending at all. While the dinosaur bears his name, the students and programs he helped shape are the legacy Rich Thompson is most proud to leave behind.