Donald C. Simmons Jr.
Donald C. Simmons Jr. is an American author and filmmaker who has held numerous elected and appointed political positions during his career. Simmons is a pastor, consultant and contractor. He was also previously with the Omaha Storm Chasers, the Triple-A affiliate of the Kansas City Royals, and the faculty of the University of Nebraska System, Dakota Wesleyan University, and other institutions of higher learning.
Biography
A native of Mississippi, he spent his childhood in Alabama and North Carolina. He is a graduate of the University of Mississippi where he was a member of Sigma Pi fraternity. He received his Ph.D. in History and International Studies in 1994 from the University of Denver, and he holds a Certificate of Ministry from Truett Theological Seminary at Baylor University, and he is pursuing a second doctorate in ministry with a concentration in pastoral care from Houston Graduate School of Theology. His early research interests focused on the displacement of peoples as a result of military conflict and their subsequent emigration to other countries, but in recent years his interests have shifted toward leadership and service. He remains active in missionary programs with the Center for Church and Global Aids, most recently in Kenya in 2012. On October 10, 2010, on the 10th anniversary of his own health crisis, an open heart surgery, he ran and completed the Chicago Marathon to raise funds and awareness for HIV-AIDS in Africa.From 2001 until 2006, he served as executive director of the South Dakota Humanities Council, and established the South Dakota Center for the Book and the South Dakota Festival of the Book. He was on the faculty of Dakota Wesleyan University from 2006-2013, where he also served as academic dean.
Books, films and writings
He was co-editor of 'Latin America and the Caribbean in Transition with Robert P. Watson, and co-editor of the textbook Leadership and Service: An Introduction with George McGovern and Dan Gaken. He is the author of the book, Confederate Settlements in British Honduras.He served on the board of editors of White House Studies from 2005-2011.
Simmons edited and contributed to Latin America and the Caribbean in Transition, and to Robert P. Watson's George McGovern: A Political Life, A Political Legacy,, The Plains Political Tradition: South Dakota Political Culture, co-edited with Jon Lauck and John E. Miller as well as Organizational Leadership: Foundations for Christians, along with Norma Wilson of Vermillion and June Ohm of Redfield. His photography has appeared in Mississippi Magazine, Mississippi: An Illustrated History and a number of newspapers and regional magazines.