Quincy University Board of Trustees Adds New Member
Quincy University’s Board of Trustees has elected Gail Simmons, Ph.D., of Kalamazoo, Mich. as its newest member. She began her Board service in October.
“We are excited to welcome Dr. Simmons to the board,” said Del Mitchell, chair of the QU Board of Trustees. “Her impressive background in higher education as a faculty member and executive will allow her to make many important contributions to Board deliberations.”
Simmons recently retired from Hofstra University in New York, where she served as Provost and Senior Vice President of Academic Affairs and as Professor of Biology. A native of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania whose parents grew up in Indiana, Simmons recently returned to the Midwest to be closer to family. She is a career academic who has held faculty, administrative, and executive appointments at several universities, including Hofstra University, Manhattanville College, the College of Staten Island, The College of New Jersey and the City College of the City University of New York.
Simmons has been a member of several local and community boards, including the New Jersey Marine Sciences Consortium, Bet Am Shalom Synagogue, YWCA of White Plains and Central Westchester, and the Cradle of Aviation Museum and Education Center. In her role as Provost at Hofstra, she was the chair for three years of the Colonial Academic Alliance, a ten-university academic consortium that included the College of William and Mary, Drexel University, Elon University, Northeastern University, and the University of Delaware.
Simmons earned her bachelor’s degree in biology from the University of Pittsburgh and her doctorate from the University of California, Davis. Her specialty as a faculty member is in genetics.
“Quincy University is helping to build character, careers, and community for the people of Quincy, Illinois and the region, said Simmons. “I’m honored to lend my expertise in higher education to advancing an institution whose mission, to prepare its students to be transformative leaders who work for justice and peace, is so important in today’s world.”
The Quincy University Board of Trustees currently has 28 members, 18 of whom are alumni of the university. While some trustees live in or near Quincy, Illinois, other trustees live throughout the United States. Six current members of the Board are Franciscan friars. With the addition of Simmons, five QU trustees will have been full-time university faculty members.
Founded in 1860 by Franciscan friars, Quincy University is a small Catholic university emphasizing the sciences, liberal arts and the professions. Quincy University offers undergraduate, graduate and adult education programs integrating practical experience and Franciscan values. Faculty and advisors work with students to design customized success plans to help them graduate on time, find their passion and prepare them for life. QU is a member of NCAA Division II for intercollegiate athletics. For more information, please visit www.quincy.edu or contact the Office of Community Relations at (217) 228-5275 or communityrelations@quincy.edu. Quincy University. Success by Design.