Faculty Director, Nakayama Public Service Scholars
Vice President, Government Relations
Chris Simmons is the Vice President for Government Relations at Duke. In this capacity, he oversees all aspects of Duke’s government relations program at the federal, state and international levels and serves as a member of the President’s Cabinet. He arrived at Duke in 2006 after serving in lead advocacy roles for the Association of American Universities (AAU) and the American Council on Education (ACE) in Washington, DC. Simmons is Duke’s principal point of contact and spokesperson on legislative and regulatory issues involving the federal government, Congress, and the Administration, in areas such as student financial aid, academic research, international education, tax policy, intellectual property, and immigration. He also oversees Duke in DC, Duke’s academic center and home for research and official events in Washington, DC.