College of Education

Prior to serving as Interim Dean of the College of Education, Dr. Ruthanne ‘Rudi’ Thompson has served 8 years as the Co-Director of the Teach North Texas Program, UNT’s innovative math and science secondary level teacher preparation program; 5 years as AVP of Digital Strategy and Innovation and Executive Director of the Center for Learning Experimentation, Application, and Research (CLEAR); and as an Associate Professor of Biology, with specialization in Discipline-based Education Research.  She earned her Doctorate in Curriculum & Instruction and her Master’s in Counseling & Student Services from UNT, as well as her undergraduate in Secondary Biology from Southwest Missouri State University, Springfield, Mo.

Dr. Thompson is a teacher’s teacher. Her career began in Dallas ISD in 1987, teaching Biology at Seagoville, then A. Maceo Smith High Schools prior to moving to Denton to attend graduate school.  During graduate school she taught at Ryan High School prior to being hired as the districts first Environmental Science Education Specialist. In that role she served as the K-12 education advisor on the committee to develop the UNT Elm Fork Education Center, in which she went on to teach in and co-direct for seven years.  In 2006, she was selected for the Discipline Based Science Education T/TT faculty position in the Department of Biology, receiving tenure in 2012.  Dr. Thompson has 35+ years of teaching experience, teaching ages pk-grey, including hundreds of formal undergraduate and graduate Biology and Scientific Teaching courses, along with thousands of professional development and informal teaching experiences with learners of all ages via the Elm Fork Education Center and through her work with the City of Dallas Environmental Education Initiative.

Her research interests include pre/in-service teacher development and increasing representation and retention of underrepresented teachers and groups in STEM.