Selected Awards

Research Awards

Mary Bernard Aguirre Professorship "for teaching and research excellence in the area of Gender and Women's Studies", Women's Studies Advisory Council, University of Arizona, 2015. 

Lincoln Scholar, Lincoln Center for Applied Ethics, Arizona State University, March 2012 to January 2013. 

Patricia Gurin Scholarship-Activist Award from the Intergroup Relations Center, Arizona State University, 2008.

Ph.D. Dissertation Nominated for the American Political Science Association’s Leo Strauss Award for the Best Dissertation in Political Philosophy and Finalist for the L.S.U. Graduate School Dissertation Award

Teaching Awards

CUES Distinguished Fellow, 2020-2022, Center for University Education Scholarship, University of Arizona. 

SBS Outstanding Teaching Award for Excellence in Lower Division Teaching, College of Social & Behavioral Sciences, University of Arizona, 2015. 

Richard B. Kenney Award for the Outstanding Teacher, Bethany College, 1999-2000.

Nominated for Richard B. Kenney Award for the Outstanding Teacher, Bethany College, 1998-2002. 

Nominated for the U.S. Professor of the Year, 2000 and 2001, Sponsored by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and the Council for Advancement and Support of Education.  Nominated by Dean of Faculty, Bethany College.
 
Academic and Community Service Awards

Faculty Achievement Award for Service, New College of Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences, Arizona State University, 2008-2009.

Faculty Achievement Award for Service, ASU’s West Campus, 2006-2007.   The Selection Committee wrote: “Dr. Simmons has  worked hard  to  insinuate  human  rights  issues  into  the  fabric  of  life  on  the  West  campus.  Drawing on  clear  intellectual  foundations  of  philosophy  and  political  science,  he  has  argued  for  the  centrality  of  rights  in  the  curriculum,  and  has  been  pivotal  in  the  establishment  of  a  master’s  degree  in  social  justice.  He has promoted  a  Border  Justice  forum,  which  has  become  a  featured  event  on  this  campus  and  has  also  promoted  Amnesty  issues  with  respect  to  the  plight  of  those  in  East  Africa.  All of  these  activities  strive  for  and  achieve  an  impressive  integration  of  global,  national  and  community  issues;  at  the  same  time,  they  integrate  faculty,  staff,  students  and  members  of  the  community  through  work  in  the  classroom,  through  art  installations  and  through  media  events.” 

Andreas Ekholm Award for Contribution to Human Rights, Amnesty International Arizona, 2006.  

Diversity Awards

Campus Environment Team’s Diversity Award, Director of Masters Program in Social Justice and Human Rights, 2011.

Campus Environment Team’s Diversity Award, Co-Supervisor of Amnesty International Chapter, 2008.