Dr. Donald Simmons, Dean
College of Leadership and Public Service
and Graduate Studies
dosimmon@dwu.edu
605-995-2937

Dr. Donald Simmons joined the Dakota Wesleyan University faculty in 2006 as the first full-time director of the McGovern Center and the founding chair of the DWU Department of Leadership and Public Service. He now serves as the Dean of the College of Leadership and Public Service and Graduate Studies. A native of Mississippi, Simmons received his Ph.D. in history and international studies from the University of Denver. Most of his research has focused on the displacement of peoples throughout history, primarily as a result of wars and conflict. He has published numerous books and journal articles and appeared as a guest on many national television and radio programs.

His publications include “Latin America and the Caribbean in Transition” (Troy State University Press,1995), which he co-edited; “Confederate Settlements in British Honduras” (McFarland and Company Publishers, 2001); the introductory chapter of “George McGovern: A Political Life, A Political Legacy” (South Dakota State Historical Society Press, 2004); and the college textbook “Leadership and Service: An Introduction” (Kendall/Hunt Publishers, 2008), which he co-edited with Senator McGovern and Dan Gaken of Central Michigan University.

Simmons was the 1997 recipient of the Presidential Award presented by the Association of Third World Studies for his leadership in that field of study. In 1995, he was recognized by the Southeast/South Regional Association of Academic Affairs Administrators as the State Administrator of the Year.

Simmons has been active politically over the years at the local, state and national levels. He has been involved in many national political party conventions and has served as a political reporter and analyst for numerous news agencies. He was twice elected a city councilman and served for a number of years as a member of the South Dakota Municipal League's Public Works Committee. He also served a three-year term on the South Dakota Board of Nursing. Simmons is currently working on a co-edited book project for the South Dakota State Historical Society Press about South Dakota's political culture, which will be forthcoming in 2009.

A member of the United Methodist Church, Simmons was active in medical mission work related to Malaria control programs in Latin America (Belize and Guatemala) during the 1980s. Most recently, he has been active with the Center for the Church and Global AIDS in Meru, Kenya.

Dusty Johnson

Dustin “Dusty” Johnson is the Visiting McGovern Professor of Leadership and Public Service at Dakota Wesleyan University. Johnson received his bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of South Dakota and his master’s degree in public administration from the University of Kansas. He teaches courses in public policy at DWU.

Johnson was named a Harry S. Truman Scholar in 1998. He was elected to the Public Utilities Commission in November 2004, becoming the youngest utilities commissioner in the nation.

Johnson currently serves as chairman of the PUC, chairman of the South Dakota Rural Development Council and is a member of the NARUC Electricity Committee. Before joining the PUC, he served as the senior policy adviser to Gov. Mike Rounds for economic development, energy, corrections and transportation issues. He has also worked for local governments in the Kansas City area and as a Truman Fellow for the U.S. Department of Agriculture in Washington, D.C.

Johnson grew up in Pierre. He and his wife, Jacquelyn, live in Mitchell with their son Max.

© 2010 • McGovern Center for Leadership and Public Service