Lamar University President Jimmy Simmons holds a unique position among the nation’s top educational executives. An accomplished musician on clarinet, saxophone and piano, he continues an active performance career after rising through the ranks as a music educator and administrator to take office Sept. 1, 1999, as Lamar’s 10th president.
A 31-year veteran of the faculty and leadership team at Lamar, Simmons served as dean of the College of Fine Arts and Communication, as interim executive director of university advancement, as music department chair and as director of bands. He earned his doctorate in music education from McNeese State University, his master’s degree from the University of Houston and bachelor’s degree from Memphis State University.
A number of other honors have come Simmons’ way. He was recognized as King Neches the 53rd and Citizen of the Year by Beaumont’s Neches River Festival; as Newsmaker of the Year by the Press Club of Southeast Texas; as Mr. East Texas by the Tyler County Heritage Society during the Texas Dogwood Festival in Woodville; Executive of the Year by the Sales Marketing and Executives Club of Southeast Texas; and by The Art Studio of Southeast Texas Inc.
Young Audiences of Beaumont honored Simmons with establishment of the annual Jimmy Simmons Artists Showcase – testament to his decades of contributions to the arts in the community.
He made international musical history in 2001 when he became the first university president to be featured soloist before the Texas Music Educators Association – the largest group of its kind in the world with 8,000 members. His performance rated a prime-time slot with the Lamar Symphonic Band at the TMEA conference in San Antonio. He continues to be a popular attraction as featured soloist with Lamar ensembles – including faculty artists’ and jazz band performances at the university’s innovative Lamarissimo! concert series, which Simmons initiated in 1990 while serving as music department chair.
In May 2002, he was featured soloist for a pops concert with the Allentown (Symphony) Orchestra, performing on clarinet and saxophone and with Maestra Diane Wittrey at the baton..
Throughout his educational career, Simmons has attracted acclaim as a musician, with groups ranging from his high school combo (Jimmy Simmons and the Corvettes), Jimmy Simmons Trio and other jazz ensembles to the Symphony of Southeast Texas. He led the Beaumont Big Band and Jimmy Simmons Orchestra, backing up the likes of Bob Hope, Cab Calloway and Frank Sinatra.
Whether he’s performing before thousands – such as his audience at TMEA – or before a dozen visiting educators at a campus reception, Simmons attracts admiration and applause. His love of music and his rare gift for sharing it with others are trademarks of this remarkable artist.
“At Lamar University, the musician sits in the president’s chair, and it’s hard to tell where one ends and the other begins. . . . Jimmy Simmons’ band is just a whole lot bigger than it used to be,” according to a recent profile. “What Southeast Texans have seen in Simmons for all of his adult life, whether directing a band, teaching music or play ing in a jazz band, is what they still see.”
During Lamar’s 50th anniversary celebration in 1973, another journalist wrote: “Watching Simmons direct is like watching a lover of music respond to a full musical background; he appears to feel the beat from head to toe . . .”
The beat goes on as Simmons conducts Lamar University’s “Overture to the New Millennium.”