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Recognizing Our Award Recipients
The 2015 Chair academy Director’s award Recipient
Jim Simpson
Jim has over 30 years experience in industry and higher education.
Jim is currently the Executive Director at College of Central Florida.
In this role he provides leadership to assist seven Florida colleges
serving 23 Florida counties to increase the number of graduates in
high demand areas. This is role that is not new to Jim. Since May
1996, he has assisted over 58 colleges to implement strategies to
improve their graduation rates.
Jim’s role as an innovator and leader in higher education has been
recognized by a number of organizations including the US
Department of Labor, the League for Innovation in Community
Colleges and the National Institute for Staff and Organizational
Development. In 2009, in recognition of his achievements and
life-long commitment to higher education in the United States, the
Chair Academy recognized Jim with the Paul A. Elsner International
Leadership Award. The Elsner Award is given annually to two
outstanding higher education administrators in the world.
When you ask Jim what his greatest accomplishments have been he will tell you four things.
Convincing his wife Linda to marry him, having a loving family, the friends he has made over the
years, and the difference that education has made in his life and the lives of the over 48,000
students who have graduated from college programs that he has been responsible for leading. The Chair Academy’s 24th Annual International Leadership Conference
Jim earned his Bachelor of Applied Science and Masters in Business Administration from
Stephen F. Austin State University and currently resides in Jacksonville, Florida.
Previous Honorees
2013 Chair Academy Founding Members
2014 Damira Lopes-Viera
13
The 2015 Chair academy Director’s award Recipient
Jim Simpson
Jim has over 30 years experience in industry and higher education.
Jim is currently the Executive Director at College of Central Florida.
In this role he provides leadership to assist seven Florida colleges
serving 23 Florida counties to increase the number of graduates in
high demand areas. This is role that is not new to Jim. Since May
1996, he has assisted over 58 colleges to implement strategies to
improve their graduation rates.
Jim’s role as an innovator and leader in higher education has been
recognized by a number of organizations including the US
Department of Labor, the League for Innovation in Community
Colleges and the National Institute for Staff and Organizational
Development. In 2009, in recognition of his achievements and
life-long commitment to higher education in the United States, the
Chair Academy recognized Jim with the Paul A. Elsner International
Leadership Award. The Elsner Award is given annually to two
outstanding higher education administrators in the world.
When you ask Jim what his greatest accomplishments have been he will tell you four things.
Convincing his wife Linda to marry him, having a loving family, the friends he has made over the
years, and the difference that education has made in his life and the lives of the over 48,000
students who have graduated from college programs that he has been responsible for leading. The Chair Academy’s 24th Annual International Leadership Conference
Jim earned his Bachelor of Applied Science and Masters in Business Administration from
Stephen F. Austin State University and currently resides in Jacksonville, Florida.
Previous Honorees
2013 Chair Academy Founding Members
2014 Damira Lopes-Viera
13
