Jeffery Thompson has been named the first-ever director of the Sorensen Center for Moral and Ethical Leadership at Brigham Young University.
“Jeff is well qualified to serve as the director of the Sorensen Center for Moral and Ethical Leadership,” said Brigitte Madrian, the chair of the executive committee for the center and dean of the BYU Marriott School of Business. “He is a capable and well-respected administrator, as well as an award-winning teacher and scholar with interests in both leadership and organizational ethics. He has a broad vision for how the center can benefit students and faculty across campus and how it can also have an external impact. I look forward to watching the center take shape under his leadership.”
The new center was created in September 2020. Its mission is to encourage the development of moral and ethical leaders through teaching, scholarship and policy engagement. It will support classroom teaching and student-focused, inspiring and experiential learning activities related to moral and ethical leadership across campus.
Thompson’s appointment began on 15 June. Prior to this new position, he was a professor at BYU Marriott School of Business's Romney Institute of Public Service and Ethics since 2003. From 2014–17, he served as the director and department chair of the Romney Institute of Public Management.
As a professor, Thompson conducted research focused on meaningful work and ethical dimensions of the organization-employee relationship.
He earned a Ph.D. in organizational behavior with an emphasis in ethics from the University of Minnesota in 1999. He holds a B.A. in Japanese as well as an MBA from BYU Marriott.
Thompson enjoys theatre performance, racquetball, literature, genealogy and travel. He and his wife, Aimee, are the parents of four children.
Writer: Aaron Sorenson