Ohio University President Lori Gonzalez named Gregory Simmons for the role of Vice President of Advancement Nov. 4, 2024. Gonzalez said she believes Simmons is well-suited for the role and will be a good fit for the university.
“Greg Simmons believes deeply in the critical importance of public universities, and he recognizes Ohio University’s distinctive excellence,” Gonzalez said. “With his higher education background, philanthropic experience, determination and character, Greg is uniquely prepared to serve as our vice president for advancement.”
Before taking this role, Simmons worked at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County as the vice president of institutional advancement. Simmons has been adjusting to his new position, the atmosphere at OU and life in Athens.
Simmons grew up in Southington, Connecticut, a small town in central Connecticut, and said he was very grateful to grow up in such a nice place with a tight-knit community.
“I was very fortunate to grow up in a place where you knew your neighbors,” Simmons said. “Everywhere you looked, you saw people who were helping people be successful.”
Although he loved his home, Simmons said he knew he wanted a change when he went off to college. Simmons has a twin and after 18 years of being attached at the hip, he wanted the experience of doing his own thing separate from his brother.
He only applied to two colleges: Boston College and Loyola University Maryland in Baltimore. After the first time he visited, he said he knew Loyola was the place for him.
“I love Loyola because it is smaller than Boston College, but it has a lot of the same features,” Simmons said. “When I visited, I loved the campus, and I knew I could get help if I needed because I had relatives close by.”
He attended Loyola University Maryland and studied English and writing. During his college years, Simmons did a lot of community service which led him to spend a year in Montana after graduation and to serve in the Jesuit Volunteer Corps.
Simmons worked with children in group homes who came from a bad home life and helped them transition back into the community. He described the work he did in Montana as eye-opening and said it helped him mature as a person.
“It made you grow up very quickly,” Simmons said. “Two months after college, you were making decisions that could affect the trajectory of a child’s life.”
After living in Montana, Simmons moved back to Baltimore, where he got a job with the Choice Program helping adjudicated youth. Eventually, he became the internship coordinator at UMBC. From there, Simmons became involved in corporate fundraising at the university before becoming associate vice president for development.
Simmons noted the president of UMBC was a great mentor to him and eventually helped him become the vice president of advancement at UMBC, a position he held for almost 15 years before making the move to OU.
He said his previous roles helped him develop the necessary skills, as well as make connections between businesses, students and college campuses and create mutually beneficial relationships.
“I got to work with a lot of different kinds of companies and understand how they can connect to campus,” Simmons said. “I still like doing that, and I still make sure that’s part of what I get to do even now.”
In his new role at OU, Simmons is responsible for fundraising and developing strategies for raising funds. His work helps students pay for opportunities such as studying abroad and making connections with alumni who can help them in the future. Simmons’s role in creating a donor network is not only beneficial to the university but can also advance student success.
“The most important thing we do is tell stories to different stakeholders,” Simmons said. “It helps people understand that when they invest in our students, they’re investing in extraordinary young people, and sometimes not young people, who, with the help of donors, can achieve things they might not have been able to otherwise.”
Along with his job change, Simmons is adjusting to life in Athens. He said it’s been very surprising to see the bond OU creates, and he has felt very welcome in his time so far.
“I have never seen a community, of alumni in particular, that have such an enduring and profound affection for Ohio University and Athens,” Simmons said.
Simmons said some of the highlights of his time so far have been when the football team won the MAC Championship, getting to see snow on the beautiful scenery and being able to walk around town so easily. He said he is excited to get to know the town more and be introduced to more amazing people along the way.
