Dr. Alvin Thornton is Associate Provost for Academic Affairs at Howard University. As Associate Provost, he has oversight responsibility for the University's College of Arts and Sciences, Schools of Business, Education and Communications and Enrollment Management Divisions (Admission, Financial Aid and Student Financial Services, and Records). In addition, Dr. 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.

Dr. Thornton's academic areas are American politics and the politics of educational reform. He is the co-author of two books and the author of several academic articles focused on the politics of educational reform. Among his numerous awards are two Fannie Lou Hamer Awards from the National Conference of Black Political Scientists; a Distinguish Community Service Award from Howard University; a Community Service Award from the Prince George's County Human Relations Commission; two Outstanding Leadership Awards from the Maryland State Board of Education, the Maryland State Teachers Association and the Prince George's County Board of Education; and an Outstanding Achievement Award from the Prince George's County Historical Society for his co-authored book on the county's Black population.

For more than 26 years, Dr. Thornton contributed to educational, political, and economic reform in Maryland and Prince George's County in particular. He also served on the Prince George's County Board of Education for seven years and was elected its chair three times. His most significant contribution as a Board Member was helping to conceptualize and lead the effort to end the 25 year school desegregation suit and secure funds for the construction and operation of adequate schools for children. Dr. Thornton helped design congressional, legislative, councilmanic and school board redistricting plans that led to more representative federal, state and local elected bodies in Prince George's County.

In December of 1999, Dr. Thornton resigned from the Prince George's County Board of Education to become Chairman of Maryland's Commission on Education Finance, Equity, and Excellence (known as the Thornton Commission), which was charged with restructuring the way public education is financed and equity and excellence are assured. The Commission was appointed by the Governor and Maryland General Assembly, and its final report and recommendations were adopted during the 2002 General Assembly session, bringing millions of dollars of additional funds to the children of Maryland. The Commission's innovative education funding design is now recognized as a model for the nation. In addition to ensuring increased equity and adequacy in education funding, the Thornton Commission report resulted in an early childhood development funding concept (universal kindergarten education and pre-K instruction for all economically needy children).