Austin College Professor Named to Fulbright Committee

SHERMAN, TEXAS

Kevin Simmons, Austin College professor of economics, has been selected

Kevin Simmons

to the Fulbright Specialist Program Peer Review Committee for applicants who are economists. The Fulbright Specialist program awards grants to U.S. faculty and professionals in select disciplines to engage in short-term collaborative projects at eligible institutions in over 140 countries worldwide. Shorter grant lengths of two to six weeks give specialists greater flexibility to pursue projects that work best with their academic or professional commitments. Simmons holds the Clara R. and Leo F. Corrigan, Sr., Chair in Business Administration and Economics at Austin College, where he has been a member of the faculty since 2003.

Simmons was named a Fulbright Scholar for 2009-2010 and spent spring 2010 in research at the International Centre for Geohazards in Oslo, Norway. The centre carries out research on the assessment, prevention, and mitigation of geohazards, including risk of landslide in soil and rock due to rainfall, flooding, earthquakes, and human intervention, as well as the geological risks in deep waters, especially underwater slides. He also worked with the U.S. Geological Survey before and after his Fulbright research in Norway. Both situations allowed him to expand his research—most of which had been on wind hazards—to consider other geohazard sources.

In January 2014, Simmons served as a Fulbright Specialist, lecturing to classes at the University of Western Ontario. He returned there in July 2014 to work on a research project with Greg Kopp, a wind engineer at the university, and Paul Kovacs, executive director of the Institute for Catastrophic Loss Reduction in Toronto. Paul also is a member of the Intergovermental Panel on Climate Change that shared the Nobel Peace Prize in 2007.The three men wrote a paper on their research, which is currently under peer review.

In his position on the Fulbright Specialist Program Peer Review Committee, Simmons and other experts will evaluate applications and recommend candidates for further consideration by bi-national Fulbright commissions and U.S. embassies in more than 100 countries around the world. The presidentially-appointed J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board makes final selection of Fulbright Specialist candidates.

Internationally known internationally for his work on the economics of natural hazards, Simmons’ research has been highlighted and he has been interviewed by the New York Times, CBS Evening News, Wall Street Journal, Fox Business, Bloomberg TV, Christian Science Monitor and USA Today, among others. He has published more than 60 articles that are widely cited and have appeared in academic journals from a variety of disciplines including engineering, sociology, law, meteorology, and economics. In 2011, Simmons published the book Economic and Societal Impacts of Tornadoes, and in 2012, Deadly Season: Analyzing the 2011 Tornado Outbreaks. Both books are co-authored with Daniel Sutter, published by the American Meteorological Society, and distributed by the University of Chicago Press.  

Having served as an advisor for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and as a consultant to the property insurance industry, Simmons has participated in Weather Ready Nation, the U.S. Weather Research Project, and as a member of the steering committee for the National Conference on the Great Tornado Outbreak of 1999. He has presented papers at academic conferences in the U.S. as well as in 11 other countries.

Austin College, a private national liberal arts college located north of Dallas in Sherman, Texas, has earned a reputation for excellence in academic preparation, international study, pre-professional foundations, leadership development, committed faculty, and hands-on, adventurous learning opportunities. One of 40 schools profiled in Loren Pope’s influential book Colleges That Change Lives, Austin College boasts a welcoming community that embraces diversity and individuality, with more than 36 percent of students representing ethnic minorities. A residential student body of 1,250 students and a faculty of more than 100 allow a 12:1 student-faculty ratio and personalized attention. The College is related by covenant to the Presbyterian Church (USA) and cultivates an inclusive atmosphere that supports students’ faith journeys regardless of religious tradition. Founded in 1849, the College is the oldest institution of higher education in Texas operating under original name and charter.