2015 Outstanding Young Alumnus: Jamila Simpson

Dr. Jamila Simpson is the winner of the 2015 Outstanding Young Alumnus Award. She received her bachelor’s degree in meteorology from NC State in 2000. She then went on to obtain her master’s and Ph.D. in science education, also from NC State.

After graduation, Simpson worked at UNC-Chapel Hill’s Morehead Planetarium and Science Center with a science education initiative that served pre-college teachers and students across North Carolina. In 2008, she came back to NC State to lead the College of Physical and Mathematical Sciences student services programs. She was later named to her current position of assistant dean for diversity and student services for the College of Sciences.

Simpson works to enhance the recruitment, retention and graduation of minority students who are traditionally underrepresented in the sciences. Under her leadership, her office won an Outstanding College Performance Award from NC State’s Office of Multicultural Student Affairs last year. And NC State is one of the nation’s leading universities for the number of science degrees it grants to underrepresented minorities, thanks in large part to her efforts.

Simpson also serves as the faculty adviser for the Sciences Ambassadors, Sciences Council and the Society of Multicultural Scientists. For these students, she is a role model, a source of inspiration and a trusted companion.