Associate Dean and senior academic leader for the Graduate School of Education at Northeastern University's College of Professional Studies

Corliss B. Thompson, Ph.D., Teaching Professor, is the Associate Dean and senior academic leader for the Graduate School of Education at Northeastern University’s College of Professional Studies. In this role, she provides strategic and academic leadership across education programs spanning undergraduate through doctoral levels, overseeing initiatives in partnership development, accreditation, faculty development, and continuous improvement. 

As an academic, Dr. Thompson is a research and evaluation strategist whose work bridges education, equity, and innovation. A former program evaluation specialist and external evaluator for projects funded by the National Science Foundation, U.S. Department of Education, and AmeriCorps she brings more than fifteen years of applied research and consulting experience focused on educational improvement, workforce development, and institutional learning systems and now applies these experiences in her daily work as an educational leader. 

Her current research explores profession-based experiential learning—how real-world, industry-connected experiences enhance motivation, access, and career readiness for diverse learners. At the leadership level, she designs and implements structures that integrate emerging technologies, including AI, into educational practice while maintaining the human dimensions of teaching and learning. 

As a former elementary school teacher, Dr. Thompson’s work is grounded in a commitment to inclusive and contextually responsive approaches that expand opportunity and honor the diverse experiences of students and educators. She has designed and led evaluation capacity-building initiatives for educators, nonprofits, and state agencies, and continues to advise on strategic evaluation and organizational learning.