President of the University
Antoinette Farmer-Thompson, President
DHEd, AT Still University; Executive Women in Leadership Certification, Cornell University; MBA, Healthcare, Grand Canyon University; MAEd, Adult and Continuing Education, University of Phoenix; BS, Criminal Justice, Arizona State University
Dr. Antoinette (Toni) Farmer-Thompson joined Strayer University as Provost and Chief Academic Officer on November 1st, 2021. Toni brings over 25 years of leadership experience from two fast-growing and innovative universities, as well as from the corporate sector. Her strengths are varied both academically and operationally. Most recently, she led Finance/Budgeting, Analytics, Human Resources, Career Services within Arizona State University’s (ASU) Educational Outreach & Student Services Division, overseeing 21 departments and 4000-employees. In this role, Toni was responsible for differentiating student services and engaging over 200 employers to connect ASU students to internships.
Prior to ASU, Toni spent 10 years at Grand Canyon University in a variety of progressive leadership roles, including Senior Vice President of Institutional Effectiveness, Honors College Founding Dean, Dean of Online and Chief Diversity Officer.
Toni brings a wealth of academic, business-related, and community focused expertise. Across her academic roles, she has led many functional areas including academic affairs, program design and evaluation, curriculum development, faculty leadership, programmatic and regional accreditation, K-12 partnership, and more. While she was recently awarded Phoenix Business Journal’s Top 25 Women in Business, she also prioritizes community embeddedness as part of her personal mission, founding and serving in the following organizations:
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President/CEO, Foresight Foundation for Economic Equity, an impact fund providing capital to minority and women owned businesses
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Co-Founder, Foundation for Female Equity & Inclusion
Toni has served on numerous boards such as Fresh Start Women’s Foundation, Phoenix College President’s Advisory Council, the Governor’s Commission on Equity in State Contracting, and others. Also, as an author and presenter, she has a deep desire and proven track record in helping advance the aspirations of the underrepresented, particularly women, both professionally and personally.