Dr. Cynthia S. Simmons
· ProfessorUniversity of Florida · Geography
Active 1968–2026
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About
Dr. Cynthia S. Simmons is a Professor in the Department of Geography at the University of Florida, with affiliate faculty positions at the Center for Latin American Studies and the Master of Sustainable Development Practice. Her research primarily employs a political economy approach to examine how social processes interact across multiple scales, including individual, local, regional, national, and global levels, and how these interactions impact local environments and social conditions. She emphasizes the importance of Place in understanding social and environmental problems, utilizing a combination of qualitative and quantitative methodologies, such as household surveys and key informant interviews, to investigate place-specific issues. Her academic background includes a Ph.D. in Geography from Florida State University, along with master's and bachelor's degrees in related fields. Dr. Simmons has led and contributed to numerous funded projects focusing on socio-environmental systems, land change, globalization, climate change, and resource management, often in Latin American contexts. She has an extensive publication record addressing biocultural geographies, indigenous territories, conservation, land change, and environmental impacts, reflecting her commitment to understanding and addressing complex social-environmental challenges.
Research topics
- Political Science
- Public relations
- Sociology
- Computer Science
- Business
- Social Science
- Engineering ethics
- Knowledge management
- Engineering
- Psychology
Selected publications
Journal of Management in Engineering · 2020 · 79 citations
Structural prejudices and unconscious biases within the construction industry have negatively impacted the construction workforce. Workforce diversity, equity, and inclusion are major concerns in the construction industry. The goal of the present study is to enable the assessment of workforce diversity, equity, and inclusion in the construction industry by identifying and determining the level of influence of applicable indicators revealing diversity, equity, and inclusion at the workforce level…
Journal of Construction Engineering and Management · 2020 · 63 citations
1st authorCorrespondingConstruction and civil engineering professionals are recognizing a growing need for increased professional development, namely, leadership development, within the industry. However, many academic and workforce professions lack a clear definition of leadership that aligns with construction and civil engineering industry environments. To initiate the development of this definition and enhance the preparation and training of emerging industry professionals, this study utilizes the Delphi method to…
Journal of Engineering Education · 2024-05-10 · 17 citations
articleOpen accessAbstract Background Belonging in their academic discipline affects students' participation and retention in engineering. While prior studies have conceptualized belonging as a predictor of outcomes, this study examines belonging as an outcome that depends on interpersonal and intrapersonal variables. Purpose This quantitative study tested a conceptual model of academic belonging for undergraduate engineering students that hypothesized how intrapersonal and interpersonal variables predict belongi…
Teaching for Creativity, Entrepreneurship, and Leadership in Engineering
2023-05-12 · 9 citations
book-chapterOpen accessSenior authorFor the past several decades, organizations such as the National Academy of Engineering have encouraged the development of professional skills, such as creativity, entrepreneurship, and leadership, among the future workforce. As a result, the number of curricular and co-curricular elements and initiatives relating to these domains has grown, generating demand for best practices and resources to enable students’ acquisition of skills and knowledge. While the need to increase the professional skil…
2024-02-13 · 4 citations
articleOpen accessThe core of Dr. McCall's work is to broaden participation in engineering by exploring the intersections of identity, engineering, and culture as students become or fail to become engineers.Her research interests include utilizing a discipline-based focus to explore the professional identity formation of undergraduate civil engineering students and the in-and out-of-class experiences that shape these identities
Recent grants
CAREER:Investigating Co-Curricular Participation of Students Underrepresented in Engineering
NSF · $452k · 2014–2019
CAREER:Investigating Co-Curricular Participation of Students Underrepresented in Engineering
NSF · $240k · 2018–2020
NSF · $322k · 2016–2019
Frequent coauthors
- 48 shared
Madeline Polmear
University of Colorado Boulder
- 44 shared
Rodolfo Valdes-Vasquez
Colorado State University
- 36 shared
Lisa McNair
Virginia Tech
- 34 shared
Cassandra McCall
Utah State University
- 30 shared
Ashley Shew
Utah State University
- 29 shared
Marie Paretti
George Washington University
- 28 shared
Dong Zhao
Michigan State University
- 25 shared
Kristen Parrish
Arizona State University
Labs
Geography LabPI
Education
- 2012
PhD, Civil Engineering
Clemson University
- 2010
Graduate Certificate, Engineering Education
Clemson University
- 2007
PhD-level coursework, Sustainable Infrastructure, Environmental Engineering
University of South Carolina
- 1995
MS, Civil Engineering
Clemson University
- 1990
BS, Civil Engineering
Clemson University
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