UT to rename student union for professor

Officials hold memorial service for vice president who died this month

9/20/2016

The University of Toledo will rename the Student Union building on campus in honor of the late Lancelot C.A. Thompson, a retired chemistry professor and vice president of student affairs who died Sept. 10.

University officials announced the honor during a memorial service Monday night for Mr. Thompson, who died at 91, and had continued tutoring UT students even after his retirement in 1988.

UT officials said he was the first black full-time faculty member hired, the first to receive tenure, and the first black vice president.

The university had already named Student Union room 2592 as the Lancelot C.A. Thompson Meeting Room. 

RELATED: Lancelot C.A. Thompson (1925-2016)

The name change to the Lancelot Thompson Student Union is pending approval by the UT Board of Trustees at its next meeting.

“Generations of future students will know his name and the impact he has had on our university,” UT President Sharon Gaber said in a prepared statement. “I could not be more proud to continue his legacy in this way.”

Ms. Gaber also announced a new Lancelot Thompson Student Activities and Diversity Fund that will support student programming.