Curriculum Vitae
Don Thompson


Professional

Professor of Great Books & Mathematics
Natural Science Division
Pepperdine University
24255 Pacific Coast Highway
Malibu, CA 90263

Phone: 310.506.4831
Fax: 310.506.4785
thompson@pepperdine.edu
http://dt.pepperdine.edu

Visiting Scientist
Information Sciences Laboratory
Mail Code RL69
Hughes Research Laboratories
3011 Malibu Canyon Road
Malibu, CA 90263

Phone: 310.317.5138
Fax: 310.456.5484
thompson@isl.hrl.hac.com

Biographical

Born: November 14, 1952
Married: 37 years to Nancy Shellady
Children: Peter - 27, Kyle - 25, Jessica - 25
3350 Corning Street
Newbury Park, CA 91320

Education

Phi Beta Kappa, Alpha Chapter, University of Arizona
Ph.D., Mathematics, University of Arizona, 1979
M.S., Mathematics, University of Arizona, 1976
B.A., Mathematics & Physics, Phillips University, 1974

Employment

I have been serving on the faculty of Pepperdine University since 1979 as an Assistant, Associate, and now tenured full Professor of Mathematics.

Teaching & Learning

I have taught the following courses at Pepperdine University: Calculus I-III, College Algebra, Trigonometry, Linear Algebra, Differential Equations, Modern Algebra, Elementary Statistics, Probability & Linear Algebra, Statistics, Business Calculus, Mathematical Probability, Mathematical Statistics, Fourier Analysis, Discrete Structures, Numerical Methods, Introduction to Computer Science, Data Structures, Programming Languages and Paradigms, Artificial Intelligence, Math for Poets, Chaos Theory & Dynamical Systems.

I joined the Great Books Colloquium faculty in September, 1994, engaging in teaching via the method of shared inquiry. Our Great Books program consists of four courses spanning primary classic works from antiquity to the post-modern era, covering the following authors: Homer, Plato, Aristotle, Euripides, Sophocles, Virgil, Augustine, Aquinas, Dante, Machiavelli, Shakespeare, Luther, Milton, Descartes, Locke, Rousseau, Kant, Swift, Voltaire, Goethe, Austen, Emerson, Dostoevsky, Ibsen, Sartre, Camus, Kierkegaard, Tillich, Darwin, Marx, Freud, Angelou, and Szymborska. I also taught a fifth Great Books class that explored non-western texts of twentieth century India, China, and Japan, as well as integrating techniques of meditation and yoga.

My involvement in the Great Books program has had, in the words of Dante, a "transhumanizing" effect on me as a teacher, learner, and human being. I am becoming increasingly convinced of the veracity of Parker Palmer’s words from his work To Know as We are Known: "Ultimately, knowledge is love and the highest goal of education is the pursuit of and engagement in truth."

Administration & Service

Assistant Academic Dean, 1990-1992
Director, General Education & Assessment, 1996-1997
Member Strategic Planning Task Force, 1996-1997
Member Blue Ribbon Commission on Liberal Learning in the 21st Century, 1996-1997
Visiting Professor, Florence Program (Italy), 1992-1993 & 1997
Dean of Academic Programs, 1997-1998
Member WASC Steering Committee, 1998-2000
Member Steering Committee for the Lilly Endowment's Theological Exploration of Vocation Projects 2002-2007 & 2007-2009
Associate Dean of Seaver College, 1997-2003
Associate Vice President for Planning, Information, & Technology, 2003-2006
Accreditation Liaison Officer - WASC, 2003-2009
Member Strategic Planning Subcommittee on Christian Higher Education, 2006-2007
Associate Vice President for Educational and Institutional Research, 2006-2009
Visiting Professor, Buenos Aires Program, Summer 2011

Research & Presentation Highlights

Thompson, D. "The Krein Condition for Coherent Configurations". Master's Thesis, Department of Mathematics, University of Arizona, May 1976.

Thompson, D. "Design Constructibility:  Strongly Regular Graphs and Block Designs". Doctral Dissertation, Department of Mathematics, University of Arizona, August 1979.

Thompson, D. "Eigengraphs: Constructing Strongly Regular Graphs with Block Designs", Utilitas Mathematica, 20, (1981), 83-115.

Thompson, D. & Przytula, K. W. "Hidden Layer Optimization in Artificial Neural Networks," presented at the Hughes Research Laboratories, Malibu, CA, August, 1995.

Thompson, D. & Manning, C. "CD-ROM Student Portfolio Project at Pepperdine University," Adult Assessment Forum Journal of Quality in Adult-Centered Education, Volume V, Number 4, Winter 1995-96.

Thompson, D. "Shared Learning: CD-ROM Student Portfolio Project," a concurrent session presented at the 11th AAHE Conference on Assessment & Quality, Washington D.C., June 8-12, 1996.

Thompson, D. "Digital Assessment on the World Wide Web," a presentation made at the NCTLA What Works II National Conference on Postsecondary Education in the 21st Century, Penn State University, June 21-23, 1996.

Przytula, K. W.  & Thompson, D. "Evaluation of Neural Networks for Automatic Target Recognition," Proceedings of the IEEE Aerospace Conference, Snowmass at Aspen, February 1, 1997 with K. Wojtek Przytula.

Przytula, K. W. & Thompson, D. "Analysis of Trained Neural Networks," Computational Intelligence and Applications, Studies in Fuzziness and Soft Computing, Edited by Piotr S. Szczepaniak, Physica-Verlag, Heidelberg, 1999, pp. 268-275.

Thompson, D. "Symbol, the Infinite, and Paradox: Euclidean Essentials," Core Text Education: Knowledge, Action, Creation, University Press of America, 1998.

Thompson, D. "Harmony: Mistakes and Miracles in Johannes Kepler's Cosmology", Core Text Education, University Press of America, 1999.

Thompson, D. & Przytula, K. W. "Construction of Bayesian Network Modeling for Diagnostics", Proceedings of the IEEE Aerospace Conference, Big Sky, MT, March 19, 2000 with K. Wojtek Przytula.          <Paper>          <Presentation>

Thompson, D. & Przytula, K. W. Development of Bayesian Diagnostic Models Using Troubleshooting Flow Diagrams. SPIE AeroSense. Orlando April 2001. with K. Wojtek Przytula. Presentation

Thompson, D. "Space - The Ultimate Locus". Presented at ACTC. Notre Dame. April 2001.

Thompson, D. "Dante and The Unknowing Cloud". Presented at ACTC. Montreal. April 2002.

Thompson, D., Colson, D., & Lee, J.S. Universality and History: Foundations of Core. University Press of America. March 2002.

Przytula, K.W., Thompson, D., & Dash, D. "Evaluation of Bayesian Networks Used for Diagnostics." IEEE Aerospace Conference, Big Sky, 2003. Presentation

Thompson, D. Darwin and Theories of Everything, ACTC Atlanta, April 2003.

Thompson, D. & Miller-Perrin, C.L. (2003).  Understanding vocation: Discerning and responding to God’s call. Leaven: A Journal of Christian Ministry, 11(1), 48-53.

Thompson, D. (2004).  A Change in Culture:  Pepperdine University's CD-ROM Student Portfolio Project. In T.W. Banta (Ed.), Portfolio Assessment Uses, Cases, Scoring, and Impact: Assessment Update Collections (pp. 72-76). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Krumrei, E., Miller-Perrin, C.L., & Thompson, D. “Influence of identity development on faith maturity among college students.  Presented at the Western Psychological Association Convention, Phoenix, Arizona, April, 2004.

Thompson, D. & Miller-Perrin, C.L.  “Vocational discernment and action among university professors.” Paper presented at the Faith in the Academy conference, Messiah College, Pennsylvania, October, 2004.

Miller-Perrin, C.L. & Thompson, D.  “Vocation as calling: The role of gender in vocational discernment and action among first-year college students.  Paper presented at the 3rd Annual Mid-Year Research Conference on Religion and Spirituality, Columbia, MD, April, 2005. 

Andrews, E., Sessions, M., Miller-Perrin, C.L., & Thompson, D.  “A life dedicated to service: Faith and commitment to service in college students.”  Paper presented at the Western Psychological Association Convention, Portland, OR, April, 2005.

Thompson, D. & Miller-Perrin, C.L. “Personal Stories of Faith.”  Workshop presented to Messiah College Social Science and Education Faculty, Grantham, PA, August 24, 2005. 

Thompson, D. & Miller-Perrin, C.L. “Personal stories of calling among university professors.”  Paper Presented at Cultivating a Culture of Calling: Mennonite Perspectives on Vocation Conference, Goshen, IN, October 20-22, 2005. 

Thompson, D. & Miller-Perrin, C.L. “Peak experiences in personal stories of calling among university  Professors.”  Paper presented at Faith, Hope, and Work Conference, San Diego, CA, February 9-11, 2006.

Thompson, D. & Leese, D. "Using a digital repository to streamline program review & student portfolios". Poster presented at Annual WASC Meeting, Irvine, CA, April 2006.

Krumrei, E., Miller-Perrin, C.L., & Thompson, D. (2006). "Crisis and commitment: Applying concepts of identity development to faith maturity." Submitted to Journal of Psychology and Christianity.

Krumrei, E., Miller-Perrin, C.L., & Thompson, D. (2006). "The relationship between identity status and strength of faith: A quantitative study of college students." Submitted to Journal of Psychology and Theology. 

Miller-Perrin, C.L., Byron, K., Guthrie, W., & Thompson, D. “Bridges and Barriers in the Development of Faith, Life Purpose, and Leadership in College Students.” Presented at the Association of Christians in Student Development Annual Conference, Marion, IN, June 8, 2006. 

Byron, K., Guthrie, W., Miller-Perrin, C.L., & Thompson, D.   “Bridges and Barriers in the Development of Faith, Identity, and Life Purpose in College Seniors.” Presented at the Pepperdine University Board of Regents Meeting, Malibu, CA, June 13, 2006.

Miller-Perrin, C.L. & Thompson, D. "The Theological Exploration of Vocation among Students." Presented at the Lilly Endowment's Program for the Theological Exploration of Vocation, Final Conference, Indianapolis, IN, February 9, 2007.

Miller-Perrin, C.L. & Thompson, D."The Development of Faith and Life Purpose Among College Students: The Role of an International Living and Learning Experience." Presented at the Association of Christians in Student Development Annual Conference, St. Paul, MN, June 5, 2007. 

Miller-Perrin, C.L. & Thompson, D. "The Development of Life Purpose in Pepperdine University Undergraduates." Presented at the Pepperdine University Faculty Conference, Malibu, CA., October 5, 2007.

Baird, D., Miller-Perrin, C.L., Mullins, M., & Thompson, D. "The Program Review as Research". Presented at the AACU-ACAD Annual Meeting, Washington, D.C., January 24, 2008.

Thompson, D. "How are we doing and how do we know? Best Practices for transformative learning: Alumni speak up.", Presented at the Annual Faculty Conference of Pepperdine University, October 4, 2008.

Miller-Perrin, C.L. & Thompson, D. "What will I become? Exploring vocation and calling." Presented at the Christian Heritage Series, Pepperdine University, October 29, 2008.

Thompson, D.&  Miller-Perrin, C.L."Gender differences in the understanding and pursuit of life  purpose among university faculty." Presented at the Annual Meeting of the Association for the Study of Higher Education, Jacksonville, FL, November 8, 2008.

Thompson, D. & Miller-Perrin, C.L. "Vocational discernment and action: an exploratory study of male and female university professors". Review of Religious Research, Volume 48, December 2008.

Thompson, D., Miller-Perrin, C.L., Jones, T., & Tippens, D. “Vocational Development of  Students and Faculty: High Impact Programs at Pepperdine University”. Presented at the Council of Independent Colleges, NetVUE Conference. Indianapolis,  March 14, 2009.

Thompson, D. & Miller-Perrin, C.L. “Personal Stories of Faith and Vocation.”  Workshop presented to faculty and staff of North Park University, Chicago, IL, August 17, 2009. 

Miller-Perrin, C.L. & Thompson, D. "What will I become? Exploring vocation and calling". Presented at the Christian Heritage Series, Pepperdine University, September 15, 2009.

Miller-Perrin, C.L. & Thompson, D. "The development of life purpose in college students: A preliminary study on the effects of an international living and learning experience." Presented at the Annual Meeting of the Association for the Study of Higher Education, Vancouver, B.C., November 7, 2009.

Thompson, D. "Making the transition from Secondary to Higher Education". Guest Panelist at the Oak Park High School Faculty/Staff Session on WASC Accreditation. Oak Park, CA. November, 23, 2009.

Miller-Perrin, C.L & Thompson, D. "The Impact of Study Abroad on College Student Spiritual Development". Presented at the Institute on College Student Values, Florida State University, February 4, 2010.<Presentation Slides>

Thompson, D. & Miller-Perrin, C.L. "The Role of Gender and Age in Vocational Calling Among University Professors". Presented at the Division 36 Mid-Year Conference of Psychology and Religion, March 27, 2010. <Presentation Slides>

Miller-Perrin, C.L. & Thompson, D. "The Development of Vocational Calling, Identity and Faith in College Students: A Preliminary Study of the Impact of Study Abroad”. Frontiers: Interdisciplinary Journal of Study Abroad. Volume XIX. Fall 2010.

Miller-Perrin, C.L. & Thompson, D. "What will I become? Exploring my life purpose".. Presented at the Christian Heritage Series, Pepperdine University, September 14, 2010.

Thompson, D. & Miller-Perrin, C.L."Gender Does Matter: Barriers for Women Living Out Their Vocational Calling in the Academy". Under Review.

Thompson, D., Miller-Perrin, C.L., Tippens, D., Selby, G., & Krumrei, E. "Mentoring Sophomore Students in Vocational Discernment: The Role of Faculty". Presented at the Council of Independent Colleges, NetVUE Conference. Indianapolis,  March 11, 2011.

Consulting & Research

Since January, 1995, I have been serving as a visiting scientist at HRL, LLC. (formerly known as Hughes Research Laboratory), Malibu, California. I work with the Advanced Signal Processing and Neural Network research group of the Information Science Laboratory. My current research focuses on rule extraction techniques for Artificial Neural Networks, Bayesian Network modeling, Data Mining, and Predictive Analytics.

In the spring of 2010, I developed the eight mathematics great books courses for C.S. Lewis College, scheduled to open their doors in 2012. I am serving as a curriculum and faculty development consultant in mathematics and science for the next five years as they launch their new school.

Team member for the WASC re-accreditation of Golden Gate University, San Francisco, 2009-2011.

Professional Reviewer for Elsevier Publishing: Knowledge Based Systems, 2010-Present.