User:Hmlarson/Donnis Thompson

Donnis Thompson (April 1, 1933 – February 2, 2009) was a key figure, along with Patsy Mink, in the passage and implementation of Title IX in the United States. Thompson was the first black superintendent for the Hawai'i Department of Education the the first women's track and field coach and athletic director at the University of Hawaii. As the first athletic director, she founded the women's sports program at the university.

She authored three books former coach of the U.S. national women's track team (1961)

Early years and education
In 1953, Thompson was the women's national shot-put champion.

Career
Thompson started the women's track and field program at the University of Hawaii at Manoa in 1961 and coached the team for three years.

During her nine-year tenure, Dr. Thompson increased the number of women's sports programs from two to eight, the number of women's athletic scholarships from a handful to 30, and enhanced the women's athletics program into the national spotlight.

In 1981, Thompson left the university to become Hawaii's first woman Superintendent of Education. In her three-year tenure, she authored a 10-year improvement plan for state schools and helped increase the high school graduation rate.

Honors and awards
Thompson received the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., National Outstanding Service Award in ____. She was inducted into the University of Hawaii Hall of Fame in ____ and was named an Honor Fellow of the National Association of Girls and Women in Sports. August 15, 1981 was named Donnis Thompson Day in Hawaii.

In October 2007, a sculpture of her likeness was established at the Stan Sheriff Center. The same year, she was inducted to the Hawaii Sports Hall of Fame.