Academic Dean named Iowa Wesleyan president
April 21, 2008
LaGrange College’s Dr. Jay K. Simmons has been elected president of Iowa Wesleyan College, both institutions announced this morning.
Simmons, Vice President of Academic Affairs and Dean since 1997, will assume leadership of the Mt. Pleasant, Iowa, institution on June 16.
LaGrange College President Stuart Gulley said the selection, while sad for the LaGrange area, reflects well on both the individual and the institution.
“It is a measure of Jay’s standing within the higher education community, as well as a measure of the standing of LaGrange College, that he was aggressively pursued for this post for which he did not apply,” Gulley said.
“I could not be more pleased that Jay’s considerable gifts as an administrator and academician will now be shared at the helm of a sister United Methodist-related institution—one of the oldest and most respected west of the Mississippi River.”
Gulley pointed to a number of Simmons’ accomplishments during his 11-year tenure as the college’s chief academic officer: a new academic calendar and core curriculum; consolidation of academic programs and divisions; creation of new master’s degrees and an extension program in Albany; reduction in faculty teaching loads; and successful accreditation reviews for nursing, education and business, including a collegewide reaffirmation of accreditation from SACS.
“Thanks to Jay’s efforts we may now boast of strong results on the National Survey of Student Engagement, a growing number of students pursuing graduate and professional study and a significantly enhanced undergraduate research program,” Gulley said.
Simmons also has been active in the local community. He served for three years as board chairman of the LaGrange Symphony Orchestra and has held leadership posts at First United Methodist Church.
Before coming to LaGrange, he served as dean of liberal arts at the Metropolitan Campus of Cuyahoga Community College in Cleveland, Ohio.
Simmons earned his bachelor’s degree in political science at Birmingham-Southern College and his master’s and doctorate in the same subject at the University of Alabama. A Phi Beta Kappa member, he and his wife, Jenné, have two daughters, Samantha and Madison.
Gulley said that he expects to name an interim replacement for Simmons in the near future. A national search will be conducted during the next academic year for a new dean.
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