E. Kelly Thompson was born January 28, 1909 in Lebanon, Marion County, Kentucky. He received bachelor's and master's degrees from Western Kentucky State Teachers College, where he originally came on a football scholarship. When an injury removed him from the team and deprived him of financing for college, Ed Diddle, then serving as both football and basketball coach at Western, arranged a loan for Thompson and found him a part-time job as a local sports correspondent for the Louisville Courier-Journal. After graduation, Thompson was hired as a college representative by President Henry Hardin Cherry and later promoted to publicity director. After serving in the Navy during World War II, Thompson returned to Western where he worked as an assistant to Coach Diddle and to President Paul Garrett. He was named acting president following the death of Dr. Garrett in 1955, and became his successor later that year.

Thompson's tenure as president witnessed significant student population growth and the construction of many new buildings. In 1966, along with three other state colleges, Western attained university status. Thompson resigned the presidency in 1969. He later became president of the College Heights Foundation, which solicits donations for Western and awards scholarships, and served as chairperson of the Foundation's board. He died on August 14, 1993.

http://www.wku.edu/Library/dlsc/ua/presidents/thompson.html

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