Monica Worline joins UM-Flint as a Jack W. Thompson, M.D. Distinguished Visiting Professor

October 16, 2025

Monica Worline, an organizational psychologist and faculty director of the University of Michigan’s Center for Positive Organizations, has joined UM-Flint for the 2025-26 academic year as a Jack W. Thompson, M.D. Distinguished Visiting Professor.

Worline’s work focuses on cultivating more courageous thinking, compassionate leadership, and forms of organizing that bring people’s best work to life. She is a leading voice in advancing integrative models that synthesize work across the positive organizational scholarship community, supporting leaders and changemakers in building organizations designed to thrive. Her current research focuses on a social architecture framework for designing flexible structures and architecting the capability for human and social thriving within organizations, enabling them to reliably and strategically produce excellence grounded in human well-being. In addition to her work with the Center for Positive Organizations, Worline is also a faculty member in the Ross School of Business Organizations and Management Group and co-author of “Awakening Compassion at Work: The Quiet Power that Elevates People and Organizations.”

“Throughout her engagement as a Thompson Visiting Professor, Dr. Worline’s service will center on advancing a culture of compassion, collaboration, and flourishing across our campus community,” said Abby Parrill-Baker, UM-Flint provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs.  “Through her scholarship and leadership, Dr. Worline demonstrates how caring for people not only enriches organizational life but also creates a competitive advantage. Her lectures, book talks, workshops, and small group sessions will provide us with practical frameworks for rebuilding trust, fostering resilience, and cultivating a positive culture in the wake of significant transitions. Her presence on campus strengthens our commitment to the ongoing work of becoming a more caring, connected, and thriving community.”

Established in 2004, the Jack W. Thompson, M.D. Distinguished Visiting Professorship is awarded to nationally acclaimed scholars or public intellectuals in a field of broad interest. The professorship’s namesake benefactor was an OB-GYN who practiced in Flint from 1950-83. He was the son of Frances Willson Thompson, whose gifts led to the naming of the Frances Willson Thompson Library and established the Critical Issues Forum.

This article was originally published as a University of Michigan–Flint news story.