Omari Scott Simmons

Professor Simmons is a leading expert in corporate governance and higher education policy. He frequently lectures on these topics to academic and nonacademic audiences, domestic and international. His research appears in top journals.

Prior to joining the Wake Forest Law School faculty, Professor Simmons worked as corporate counsel for two multinational corporations and as an associate at the law firm of Wilmer Hale in Washington, D.C. Immediately after law school, he clerked for the Honorable E. Norman Veasey, Chief Justice of the Delaware Supreme Court.

Professor Simmons is a member of the American Law Institute. He is also the Co-Founder and Executive Director of the Simmons Memorial Foundation (SMF), an award-winning nonprofit organization that provides a range of college access-related services to vulnerable students. An organizational case study of SMF is captured in his book Potential on the Periphery: College Access from the Ground Up (Rutgers Univ. Press).

Professor Simmons received his undergraduate education at Wake Forest University; his Juris Doctorate from the University of Pennsylvania Law School; and a Master of Laws from the University of Cambridge. At the University of Pennsylvania, he received the Thouron Award and the Fontaine Fellowship. Professor Simmons has received multiple honors in recognition of his efforts promoting higher education opportunities.