BLACK SOCIAL HISTORY : AFRICAN AMERICAN " MARGARET SIMMS " ONE OF THE PROMINENT BLACK ECONOMIST IN THE UNITED STATES : GOES INTO THE " HALL OF BLACK GENIUS "

         BLACK     SOCIAL   HISTORY                                                                                                                                                                                                

Margaret Simms '67

Simms delivers a specialconvocation speech in Skinner Chapelfor the Katrina Symposium.

Margaret Simms, Class of 1967 is an economist who received a B.A. in Economics from Carleton and an M.A. and Ph.D. in Economics from Stanford in 1974.

According to a profile by the National Economic Association, Simms was initially interested in the natural sciences, but became involved in the social sciences after a "Principles of" introductory course at Carleton. [1]

Career

After receiving her Ph.D. from Stanford, Dr. Simms taught at the University of California-Santa Cruz, and then Atlanta University. She then worked at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development as a Brookings Fellow. During this time she became chair of the American Economic Association Committee on the Status of Minorities in the Economics Profession. She is currently the Vice President for Research at the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies.

Involvement with Carleton

Dr. Simms was the President of the Alumni Council for the 2005-2006 academic year. [2] She took photos at the Multicultural Alumni Network's Gathering 2004.[3] She delivered a special convocation speech to open the Hurricane Katrina Symposium on March 31, 2006, following a telecast by New Orleans mayor Ray Nagin.

In 2010, Dr. Simms was awarded a Carleton honorary degree and spoke at commencement. She was also named to the college's Board of Trustees that year.