Jackie Simpson doesn’t hesitate to call herself an activist.
“I consider myself an activist and an educator,” says Simpson, director of The Spectrum Center, formerly the Office of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Affairs. “I believe that both activists and educators are engaged in the transformation of hearts and minds. So in some way, for me, being an educator is being an activist and being an activist is being an educator.”
Simpson sees these roles as interchangeable.
“I think the reason some people don’t see them in the same way is because when they hear ‘activist,’ they think of signs and sit-ins,” she says. “And when they hear ‘educator’ they think of sitting in front of class and talking. However, there are multiple ways to identify, engage in and define those terms.”
Simpson joined U-M 11 years ago working in the Office of Student Activities and Leadership. In 2005 she joined the LGBTA office, which was founded as the first of its kind in the nation in 1971 by Jim Toy, who now works as diversity coordinator for the Office of Institutional Equity.
Her staff consists of two assistant directors, an administrative and programming coordinator, and graduate and undergraduate staff.
Internally, Simpson devotes her time in three areas: advocacy, education and support for LGBT faculty, staff and students, their families and friends. Her office achieves these goals by offering programs such as educational workshops, Speakers Bureau panels, intensive Ally Training, Coming Out groups, National Coming Out Week, Transgender Awareness Week and brown-bag dialogue and discussion sessions.
Another part of Simpson’s role is institutional advocacy in conjunction with other units campuswide, particularly with policies, services and the climate for LGBT faculty members, staff and students regarding issues such as Other Qualified Adult Benefits and policies that are inclusive of gender identity and expression.
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“I authentically believe the University of Michigan is committed to diversity, and values differences, because having a diversity of perspective in addition to a diversity of people is what will allow us to grow in deeper ways,” she says. “Having an Office of LGBT Affairs is a step in the right direction. At the same time, it is essential that we include sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression as part of the larger diversity conversation more often.”
Simpson, whose father is an ironworker from the United States and whose mother was a flamenco dancer and then a librarian from Spain, spent her formative years and young adult life outside of the United States. She identifies as bicultural and says she feels fortunate to have learned how to integrate and adapt to multiple cultural environments.
In addition, she has one sister “who is a terrific mom” and a certified Pilates instructor in Spain and one brother who is a Samuel Candler Dobbs Professor of Education and director of undergraduate studies in the Division of Educational Studies at Emory University.
Simpson entered undergraduate studies as a non-traditional student. She earned her bachelor’s degree in psychology and Spanish literature, followed by a master’s degree in counselor education with a specialization in student affairs administration, from the University of North Carolina, Greensboro.
Simpson lives in Ann Arbor with her partner of 12 years, Jeanine Bessette, who works as the new director of housing at U-M-Flint. They have two 10-year-old dogs, Sneetches and Cricket.
When the couple isn’t working out with a fitness trainer three days a week, they spend their free time taking road trips, relaxing, reading and watching Michigan softball. “We love University of Michigan women’s softball,” Simpson says. They recently traveled to watch the team compete in Austin, Texas, and traveled to Oklahoma City in 2005 for the Women’s Softball World Series in which they won the national championship.
Looking forward, Simpson is excited about the work The Spectrum Center is capable of achieving. “It would be terrific to find a way to have National Coming Out Week be given similar attention and allocated the resources necessary to achieve the visibility of other weeks that we have,”
In addition, she would like to partner more with units in Academic Affairs to create synergy between theory and practice on issues related to social justice. “I’m interested in finding ways that our office can be engaged with faculty across campus,” she says. “We’re already doing it in some ways but we have a ways to go.”
The weekly Spotlight features staff members at the University. To nominate a candidate, please contact the Record staff at [email protected].
