One of Minnesota’s 100 Most Influential Health Care Leaders, according to Minnesota Physician magazine, Ted Thompson has never forgotten the place that led him to pursue medicine.

“My ability to communicate, to be a team player and to lead with compassion began at Wittenberg,” Thompson said. And it hasn’t ceased since.

Recipient of numerous accolades and awards for his work in pediatrics and neonatology, including being named “Outstanding Physician in Neonatology” in 2001 and 2002 by Minneapolis/St. Paul Magazine, Thompson has insisted that education and compassion fuel physicians’ work. That commitment and perspective recently earned him another award, this time from his alma mater, which presented him with an Alumni Citation Award during Homecoming and Reunion Weekend, Oct. 28-29.

Given to those who have brought honor to Wittenberg by their exceptional accomplishments in which service to humanity is placed ahead of personal gain, the award brought Thompson back to campus 35 years after graduating. During his time back, Thompson recalled the friendships he made and role models he found at Wittenberg.

“I also learned the need to persevere,” he said.

The chief-elect for the medical executive committee and the acute intake medical director for Fairview-University Medical Center, and the associate head for education and community programs for the department of pediatrics at the University of Minnesota Medical School, Thompson also serves as the director of clinical education at the medical school.

A chemistry major at Wittenberg and vice president of Phi Mu Delta fraternity, Thompson is also a member of Phi Chi medical fraternity. Widely published and author of two educational manuals, he was inducted into the prestigious Academy of Medical Educators in 2004 and has consistently received the American Medical Association Physicians’ Recognition Award for Continuing Medical Education. He received his M.D. from the University of Pennsylvania in 1969.