Associate Director of Institutional Relations

Dru Simmons

Midwest and North Central Regions

email: simmonsd@arcadia.edu
tel: 267-218-0256

Dru Simmons has been with Arcadia University since August 2000. Currently he serves as the Associate Director of Institutional Relations working with those institutions in the Midwest and North Central regions that utilize Arcadia programs. He received his BA in Political Science from Messiah College and his MA in World History from the State University of New York at Brockport. During his academic career, Dru studied extensively overseas – twice in Central America as an undergraduate and in Mexico during post-graduate studies. Prior to joining Arcadia University in 2000, Dru held an administrative post in a Latin American studies program in Costa Rica and then spent three years as a study abroad advisor at a public university.

Dru maintains an active role in the field. Most recently for NAFSA: Association of International Educators, he served from 2009-2011 as Dean of the Core Education Program, Education Abroad Advising workshop. He was a Lead Trainer for the workshop from 2008-2010, presented the curriculum from 2004-2010 and was a member of the team that rewrote the entire curriculum in 2006. He is also the author of the NAFSA publication Financial Aid and College Education Abroad Basics for High School Guidance Counselors and Students. Previously he has served nationally on the Leadership Development Committee (2005-2006), and regionally as the KC Education Abroad Representative for NAFSA Region VI (2003-2005) and TechSIG for NAFSA Region X (1998-2000). In 2011, he was awarded the George E. Hertrich Advocacy Award by NAFSA Region VI. Also active in the Forum on Education Abroad, Dru served on the Committee on Institutional Relations that drafted the Standards of Good Practice for campus interaction amongst professional organizations.