Meet Our President

Dr. Jay Simmons assumed the role of President at Saint Paul School of Theology on January 1, 2024. He previously served Saint Paul as Vice President for Institutional Advancement, overseeing marketing, recruiting, communications, and fundraising for Saint Paul.

 A 1985 Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Birmingham-Southern College, he began graduate study in political science at the University of Georgia, completing his master's and Ph.D. at the University of Alabama while working as the assistant dean at Birmingham-Southern. 

For the past twenty-five years, Simmons has served as a dean, an academic vice president, or a president, almost all of which has been in service to Methodist-affiliated educational institutions. 

Simmons is a past president of the National Association of the Schools and Colleges of the United Methodist Church (NASCUMC), the presidents’ association of United Methodist colleges and universities.  During the current extended quadrennium, Simmons serves as chair of the Commission on Institutional Review, the accrediting arm for United Methodist-affiliated colleges and universities in the United States.