This story is part of the Digital Equity Local Voices Fellowship lab through News is Out. The lab initiative is made possible with support from Comcast NBCUniversal.
To staff and students alike, Professor S Simmons is more than just another professor at the University of Chicago (UChicago)—he’s an invaluable source of support.
A professor and co-chair for the Inclusion, Equity, and Diversity Committee at the Crown Family School of Social Work, Policy, and Practice, Simmons works to create a strong support network for marginalized students which ranges from educational seminars to personal connection during office hours.
Simmons grew up in Chicago Heights, going on to earn his B.S. and M.S. in Psychology from Iowa State University and his PhD in Higher Education from Loyola University Chicago. He comes from a working class background and identifies as a Black trans*genderqueer person—after going through every level of the education system, he’s now especially equipped to support his students from marginalized backgrounds through their college experience.
After being raised by mostly Black women and meeting a Black female counselor while he was in high school, he said always felt supported and seen for who he is.
“I think that was instrumental to my success,” he said. “I asked [the counselor] how she did what she did and she told me the path, and I said, ‘I want to do that!’ … All the Black women who poured into me, I’m pouring into Black queer trans folks as well.”
He’s always known he wanted to help promote diversity and inclusion throughout his career, but in today’s climate, the work has become more important than ever. With states such as Texas and Florida dismantling Diversity, Equity and Inclusion initiatives at many educational levels and the Supreme Court’s decision to end race-based Affirmative Action, attacks on a complete and diverse approach to education are widespread.
“I identify as Black, trans, queer,” he said. “I’m a first-generation college graduate. I come from a low-income working class background. What I experienced early in life was the importance of community, relationships, and models — seeing people who I see myself in.”
In May 2022, University of Southern California’s Williams Institute released research findings about the LGBTQ+ experience and retention rate in four-year higher education. Some of the findings included that LGBTQ+ students were four times more likely to choose a college away from home than their non-LGBTQ+ counterparts and one third reported being bullied, harassed or assaulted on campus.
Of LGBTQ+ students who had attended at least some college, 25.8% were current students, and 55.9% had completed their bachelor’s degree. Simmons hopes to bridge the gap between day one and graduation by providing students with a sense of belonging and support.
“When I look at the research about Black, queer, and trans students’ experiences not having people who look like them in schools — that was the case for me,” he said. “[My identities] have influenced the types of jobs I’ve taken, the types of communities I’ve wanted to work with, the kinds of classes that I teach.”
Despite the backlash in other places across the country, Simmons said he has felt support from his colleagues, students and the wider university community at large. He’s received local grants which allow him to keep hosting and promoting events and seminars which encourage listeners to broaden their knowledge and value different perspectives. He said he wants everyone to feel seen and modeled in higher education either through him or others who are working to understand their positions.
In the past, he’s gotten grants through the Chicago Center for Teaching to hold a Pedagogy Fellows Program to talk about the classroom, any challenges and activity ideas. Since he loves to incorporate activities and physically doing work into his classes, the seminars include opportunities for faculty to come take from his ideas, as well. He also invites faculty to observe a class now and then to see how he handles different topics in his own class.
“I get emails and calls from instructors like, ‘Hey, I’m dealing with this. Can you problem solve with me?’” he said. “From small to large groups to individual work, that’s how I’m doing it.”
One of the other ways he focuses on creating a welcoming atmosphere is through the specific courses he teaches — he wants to make sure his students can all see themselves in the curriculum. Some of these include a course on uplifting marginalized POC and LGBTQ+ communities in the field called “Trans*forming Social Work” and another on broader multicultural competency skills. His favorite class to teach is “Self Awareness and Social Work with Diverse Populations,” which focuses on how students can navigate their social work through their own identities.
One particular moment he saw the impact of his work was when teaching a class which required readings from different texts—where he often makes sure the authors are diverse. One of the readings was from a queer Muslim woman, and a queer Muslim student of his later told him how happy she was to see herself represented in the coursework.
Outside of the classroom, Simmons said it’s important for him to share and promote resources to all students who need them. Coming from a working class family himself, he’s happy to step in and help low-income students find resources to help them pay for scholarships, rent or food without any shame.
“I understand what it means to not know how I’m going to pay for school because I know that my family is not going to be able to help in that particular way,” he said. “There are lots of resources available that when you’ve come from first-generation low-income [backgrounds], you just don’t have a context for them and don’t know they exist.”
Other professors have also taken note of Simmons’ talents and desire to grow understanding and support for marginalized students, reaching out to him for help on how to structure and work with classes to create a more welcoming atmosphere.
Dr. Jessica Darrow, one of Simmons’ colleagues at UChicago, met him when he first taught a class in the Crown School and later through a faculty seminar he held about having a trans-inclusive space in higher education.
Now, the two are close friends, and Darrow said Simmons is an invaluable resource to improving the way she approaches different issues and identities in her classes.
“We meet regularly, and it’s just this really organic and beautiful consultation, because sometimes it happens without structure and without planning,” she said. “He’ll stop by my office to say hello, and then all of a sudden we’re an hour into a really helpful conversation about something that’s going on in my classroom or in his.”
Darrow also emphasized Simmons’ style of teaching is not imposing, but allows her to open up and think more critically about topics on her own. She said students across Crown often tell her about how Simmons shaped their experience and fostered a feeling of self-love within them. Whether it’s through interactive activities — such as having students physically line up to place themselves along different spectrums — or just one-one-one discussions, he’s made a lasting impact on the students.
Simmons hopes to continue providing informative seminars and diverse coursework to students in the Crown Family School and beyond to the wider university, moving beyond just intergroup dialogue to involving folks from all different perspectives. Recently, he got an email that the Chicago Center for Teaching is opening applications for grants again, as well.
“Hopefully, [we] get to a place where it’s not just those of us who look like us who are doing the supporting and affirming, but we all recognize that we are involved in this world and we need everyone to do the social justice work,” he said.