A baton is raised. Suddenly, from cacophony comes brilliant symphony
as dissonance dissolves into harmony. This happens not by chance, but
by design. The maestro marks cadence, and a certain magic results.
When Jimmy Simmons discovered his love of music — and his
talent for it — he could not have imagined the qualities that make a
world-class musician would translate into the ideal attributes of a
university president.
“I marvel at the changes that have come about over the past eight
or nine years,” said Mike Aldredge ’65, general partner, Mill Creek
Land & Cattle Co., and co-chair with Greg Thompson of Investing in
the Future: The Campaign for Lamar University. “When Jimmy first
took office, I wondered how it was going to work out—someone
going from the band to the front office. I didn’t realize how much a
university could be like an orchestra.”
The story of the path from respected jazz musician to band
leader, faculty member and ultimately university president has a lotto do with the skills and intuition needed to work with a myriad of
musicians, different instruments and complicated scores to create
harmony and sensational sound.
Though Simmons played clarinet and saxophone early on,
(Jimmy Simmons and the Corvettes was his claim to fame), he honed
his keyboard skills as an undergraduate at Memphis State. Now with
decades of concert experience, when Jimmy Simmons walks on stage,
baton in hand, and stands before the orchestra, he is calm, confident
and enormously likeable.
The orchestra members – as well as his academic team - know
that what he seeks is what each of them wants—to make beautiful
music on stage and on campus. This gift, displayed so well by his
musical life, is the gift of leadership. The ultimate “music man,”
Simmons is someone people like and want to follow. He solves problems
and creates harmony with a seeming effortlessness and a gentle
touch that is embraced and appreciated.
“When I first met him in his role as president, the easygoing but
very sincere, very concerned nature got my attention right away,” said
Dan Smith ’69, retired chairman and CEO of Lyondell Chemical Co.
and a member of the campaign cabinet. “His enthusiasm for the
university comes through in the first five seconds.”
A man whose modesty is genuine, Simmons seemed truly
surprised when a study to test the feasibility of a campaign revealed that
everyone interviewed believed Lamar University needed and deserved a
comprehensive campaign and that it HAD to happen while he was
president. With the perspective of an alumnus whose relationship with
the university spans more than five decades, campaign Honorary Chair
Elvis Mason ’59 put it this way: “I had lost hope for Lamar to reach its
potential until Jimmy Simmons became president.
The transformation at Lamar and the esteem in
which it is held today is due to Jimmy Simmons
and the team he assembled. His legacy will be the
most remarkable in Lamar’s history.”
His full partner in Lamar’s transformation is
his sweetheart and first lady Susan (Williams)
Simmons ’68. Although he didn’t graduate from
Lamar himself, – he joined Lamar’s faculty in 1970
– Jimmy often says he “did the next best thing by
marrying Susan,” a devoted Lamar alumna. She
has spent countless hours helping mold campus
interiors and exteriors into the vistas and spaces
current students and alumni can claim with pride.
Today, Simmons could bask in his success as a
musician and as a president, but his energy and drive to improve things
plays on. “He has a clear vision of where he wants to take the university,”
Smith said. “In my experience in the business world, I’ve seen that
most leaders lack a clear vision. A truly successful leader clearly knows
where they want to go. They may not know all the hows and whys to
get there, but they clearly know where they want to go. With their
enthusiasm, they can aggregate people around them who bring all the
other skills to make things happen.”
“He really has the ability to draw people together, and that’s an
uncommon trait, a real gift to be able to get people energized and
working for something,” said Jerry Reese ’66, retired founder of
Bo-Mac Contractors Ltd. and a member of the campaign cabinet.
“Jimmy has done a fantastic job of picking the right people for
the right jobs,” Aldredge said. “The orchestra is tuned up, and it is
performing fantastically.”
Simmons’ appearances as a talented musician are always played
before a packed house. He still performs regularly at Lamarrisimo!, LUllaby
of Broadway and other campus productions, in “gigs” with faculty
and friends, and in special concerts like “Jimmy Simmons and Friends
Encore” held in the Montagne Center May 3, at which Lamar’s landmark
campaign, with a $100 million goal, was announced.
His achievements as president have made him a symbol of
leadership and a bright future for Southeast Texas and for The Texas
State University System. Under his leadership, an outstanding campaign
cabinet gladly signed on to help complete the transformation
begun by Simmons by raising more than $46 million to date toward
the $100 million goal.
“Dr. Simmons has excited something in everyone who has any
interest in Lamar University,” said Greg Thompson, co-chair of the campaign
committee with Aldredge. “You go around the campus, and you
see it is a beautiful place now. The dorms are second to none. The cafeteria
is second to none. And the education is now realized to be second
to none. People are excited about the possibility of investing back into
Lamar University and making it grow better.”
Academically, Simmons continues to enhance the university with
new programs like construction management; endowed departments in
nursing and electrical engineering; and the new research and sponsored
programs office. To support enrollment and enhance campus life,
Simmons has guided the process to return football
to the university, in part, he jokingly says, because of
“the 350-piece marching band.” A new partnership
with Higher Education Holdings has garnered
national attention and is permitting Lamar to offer
high-quality master’s degrees in educational leadership
to teachers and administrators across Texas.
This kind of innovation comes naturally to a man
who can play jazz in totally new ways.
One response to such innovation has been the
steady growth, from 8,149 in fall 1999 to 10,379
in fall ’07, a trend that has picked up tempo despite
the damage wrought on the region by Hurricane
Rita in 2005. During this crisis period, Simmons
shone brightly, bringing together a team that
restored the campus and, with the hard work and sacrifice of the entire
campus community, salvaged a semester that seemed lost.
Not lost on the community is Jimmy and Susan’s dedication to
Southeast Texas. During the years, the couple has been devoted to
community activities and organizations — from the Neches River
Festival, Symphony of Southeast Texas and Art Museum of Southeast
Texas to the Rotary Club of Beaumont and Junior League as well as
arts, athletics and other endeavors at Lamar.
“Susan is right there with him,” said Sheila (O’Hara) Reese ’65, an
advocate for Lamar and wife of Jerry Reese. “They make a wonderful
couple to lead Lamar. They’ve been a partnership.”
Susan has played a leading role in the campus renaissance, drawing
on her considerable experience in the real estate business. “She’s been
very involved in the landscaping, and it’s just beautiful now,” Sheila
Reese said. “She’s been right there with him on decisions on the dorms,
the dining hall, and the Sheila Umphrey Center. She’s always opening
her home for different events, and I think she makes almost every meeting
and luncheon and dinner that he makes. She’s been a really good
first lady of Lamar.”
When the history of Lamar University is written, Jimmy Simmons
will hold a singular place. Future presidential searches at Lamar and
elsewhere may find the job description reading, “University seeks
talented musician with excellent conducting skills …” Of course, the
people of Lamar know there is only ONE Jimmy Simmons and,
luckily, he is ours.
