Guest Speaker
Gail M. Simmons is the Dean of Science and Technology
and Professor of Biology at the College of Staten Island, a senior college
of the City University of New York which serves an enormously diverse and
largely disadvantaged student population. Prior to joining CSI she was
Founding Dean of the School of Science at The College of New Jersey, a
"public ivy" undergraduate institution, and Associate Dean of Science
at the City College, a minority institution and flagship campus of the
City University of New York. She received her BS in Biology from the
University of Pittsburgh, a Ph. D. in Genetics from the University of
California at Davis, and did postdoctoral work in molecular evolution
at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences before
joining the faculty of City College in 1989.
Her research program concerned the molecular evolution of transposable
genetic elements (jumping genes) in the fruit fly, but her recent work
has revolved around science education, through work in curriculum
development for undergraduates in science and teacher education programs,
and the development of science courses that emphasize civic engagement.
She has also taken a special interest in the difficulties of providing
suitable facilities for scientific research. She derives a great deal
of satisfaction from working behind the scenes to empower faculty, staff
and students to realize their full potential and move her institution forward.
When not engaged in the perpetual meeting that deanship entails, she spends
time flailing her 13-year-old son to do his homework, instant messaging her
18-year-old son about his college experiences, and caring for her aging parents
who live downstairs. Once in a blue moon she finds time for her Significant Other,
a chemist-turned-engineer in the pharmaceutical industry. She shares her home
with one son, a dog and five cats (it was an accident, really), piles of un-done
laundry, her Taylor 6-string, and her Cuisinart.