Alvin Thornton

Who is Alvin Thornton?

Alvin Thornton is the chair of Howard University's political science department and has also been associate provost. He is a proponent of universal opportunity to conquer class discrepancy.Thornton also directs Howard University's Amgen Scholars Program and is coordinator of its Leadership Alliance Program. He has been a member of the Howard University Political Science faculty for 26 years. Before assuming the Associate Provost position, he was Chair of the University's Department of Political Science, a position he held for five and one-half years, and Associate Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences.

In 1999, he was chairman of the Maryland General Assembly's Commission on Education Finance, Equity, and Excellence, popularly known as the Thornton Commission. Its goal was to find ways for the Maryland public education system to ensure equity in education, that is, to provide quality education not limited by family income, jurisdiction, or property values.