"Remembering John Thompson: A Legacy of Innovation and Leadership in Census and Survey Research"

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"Remembering John Thompson: A Legacy of Innovation and Leadership in Census and Survey Research"

[!CDATA[John Thompson, the former director of the U.S. Census Bureau, passed away at the age of 73 in Bend, Oregon. He played a crucial role in preparing for the 2020 census, implementing innovative strategies such as using smartphones and online responses. Thompson's leadership helped make the 2020 census the most automated and technically advanced in U.S. history, especially during the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. His dedication to organizational health and decades of public service left a lasting impact on the Census Bureau. Thompson joined the Census Bureau in 1975 and rose through the ranks to become the associate director for decennial census programs, overseeing the 2000 census. He introduced technologies like optical scanning and intelligent character recognition to streamline data collection. The census data collected every ten years is crucial for determining congressional representation, Electoral College votes, and federal funding distribution. Following his tenure at the Census Bureau, Thompson worked at the University of Chicago's National Opinion Research Center (NORC) for over a decade, eventually becoming its president and CEO. He managed significant projects like the National Immunization Surveys, a large-scale telephone survey in the U.S. Thompson's leadership at NORC was instrumental in shaping the organization's future and empowering its employees. After retiring in 2018, Thompson served as the executive director of the Council of Professional Associations for Federal Statistics. He leaves behind his wife, Bonnie, and three children. John Thompson's contributions to the Census Bureau and NORC have left a lasting legacy in the field of survey research and data collection.]]