From NKAA, Notable Kentucky African Americans Database (main entry)

Alfonzo Thurman was born in Mayfield, KY, moving to Racine, Wisconsin, with his family when he was 7 years old. As an undergraduate at Wisconsin State University [now the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Pointe] in La Crosse, he was a member of the group that helped organize the campus black cultural center and was active in raising local public awareness of racial justice issues. In 1996 he was named Dean of the College of Education at Northern Illinois University, the first African American dean at the school. Thurman is currently Dean of Education at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and the Chancellor Deputy for Education Partnerships. Alfonzo Thurman is the son of Togo and Georgia May Jones Thurman.

For more see the oral history interview with Alfonzo Thurman, available at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse Library Oral History Collection. See also the Directory of American Scholars, 9th & 10th ed.; Who's Who Among African Americans, vols. 5-18; see "Alfonzo Thurman" at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, Campus Connection, Celebrating Black History, 08 February 2023 (video).