Richard L Thompson

Richard L. Thompson G’67, chairman-elect of the Syracuse University Board of Trustees, is senior counsel at the public policy law firm Patton Boggs LLP. He concentrates his work in the pharmaceutical and food and drug area, an industry in which he has spent the majority of his professional career. Before joining Patton Boggs, Thompson served as senior vice president for policy and government affairs for Bristol-Myers Squibb Company, where he established and led a 45-member global staff and was a member of the Company Operating Committee. During his tenure at Bristol-Myers Squibb, he was the principal representative of the CEO to industry associations, managed development of major public policy positions, and led the integration of the government affairs staff following the merger of the Bristol-Myers and Squibb companies. Thompson was also responsible for leading the company to the top tier of advocacy in the pharmaceutical industry, developing a leadership role in political fundraising, and chairing a number of successful industry working groups on tax, intellectual property, and Medicare prescription drug benefits. Thompson spent nearly eight years on Capitol Hill, working as an executive assistant to Rep. John Terry (R-NY) and later as Republican staff director and chief counsel to what is now known as the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. During that time, he established a minority-party professional staff. In his tenure as staff director and counsel, the committee focused on government reorganization, including the establishment of offices of Inspector General throughout the Executive Branch; oversight of multiple agencies, including the Food and Drug Administration and the Health Care Financing Administration; and the re-enactment of programs supporting state and local government financing. In addition to earning his master’s degree in political science from SU’s Maxwell School, Thompson received a juris doctor degree from the Columbus School of Law at Catholic University in 1975, and a bachelor’s degree cum laude in history and political science from SUNY Albany in 1966. Thompson is a member of the American Bar Association and is admitted to practice before the District of Columbia Bar Association and the U.S. Supreme Court. Thompson has been involved in numerous civic and charitable activities. He is past chairman of the board of directors of Ford’s Theatre, past chairman of the Governance Committee and member of the board of directors of Meridian International Center, and a member of the Federal City Council. He has also served on the board of governors of the Bryce Harlow Foundation. As a member of the SU Board of Trustees, Thompson has served on the Executive and Budget committees and chaired the Administrative Operations Committee. He serves on the Washington, D.C., Advisory Board, and has previously served on the Whitman School of Management Advisory Board and the Maxwell School Advisory Board. In 2000, Thompson and his wife, Catherine Jean Terry ’66, provided significant funding for the Remembrance Scholarship given each year in memory of those Syracuse University students killed on Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland. He and his wife are the parents of two daughters and have four grandchildren.