Judge Thompson Lauded for Increasing College Access for Urban Youth

For her work to reduce dropout rates and increase access to college for low-income urban youth, Judge O. Rogeriee Thompson is the 2011 recipient of the Dr. Amercio W. Petrocelli Distinguished Service Award.

The honor was announced today by the College Crusade of Rhode Island, of which Judge Thompson is a founding board member.

She served on the board during its formative years alongside Petrocelli, whom the award is named after. He founded the College Crusade of Rhode Island in 1989 when he was the state commissioner of higher education.

Thompson was chair of the board from 2000 to 2004. The award recognizes Judge Thompson for “her extraordinary contribution to increasing college access for all Rhode Island students," according to a release.

Thompson was nominated to the First Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals by President Barack Obama in 2009. She was confimed unanimously by the Senate earlier this year.

Thompson, a Cranston resident, holds numerous degrees including an A.B. from Brown University and a J.D. from Boston University School of Law. She also holds honorary degrees from Roger Williams University School of Law, the University of Rhode Island, and Bryant College. In 2006 she received the "Women of Excellence Award" from the Women's Center of Rhode Island. In 2010 she was inducted into the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Hall of Fame in Providence.