Dr. Jeanetta D. Sims
Goodness awaits…
Award-Winning Scholar
Dr. Jeanetta D. Sims is an award-winning educator, strategist, leader, and certified coach. She earned her PhD from the University of Oklahoma and is an accredited public relations professional (APR). She is a Former Dean in the Jackson College of Graduate Studies, Former Founding Dean of the University College, and former President of the National Communication Association. In 2023, she was inducted into the Oklahoma Higher Education Hall of Fame and recognized as OC's Distinguished Alumna of the Year.
She is currently a Professor in the College of Business Marketing Department at the University of Central Oklahoma and founder of Diverse Student Scholars (DSS).
RECENT AWARDS & HONORS
Best in Track Award, North American Management Society Management Track. (March 2026).
Best in Track Award, North American Management Society Diversity Track. (April 2025).
Oklahoma Heritage Society’s Oklahoma Higher Education Hall of Fame Class of 2023 Inductee (November 2023).
Oklahoma Christian University Distinguished Alumna of the Year (November 2023).
You Made a Difference Award, University of Central Oklahoma African American Faculty and Staff Association (February 2023).
Inaugural Dorothy Pennington Award, National Communication Association African American Communication and Culture Division (November 2022).
Women Who Inspire Award Recipient, Empowerment for Excellence (October 2022).
Fellow, Marketing Management Association (September 2022).
DaVinci Fellow, DaVinci Institute, a nonprofit organization dedicated to nurturing the arts, sciences, humanities, and education in Oklahoma (March 2022).
Presidential Citation for Service, National Communication Association (November 2021).
Academy of Human Resource Development’s (HRD) R. Wayne Pace HRD Book of the Year Award.(February 2021).
Rex Crawley Outstanding Service Award, National Communication Association African American Communication and Culture Division and Black Caucus. (November 2020).
UBS Modeling the Way Award, University of Central Oklahoma. (August 2020).
Best in Track Award, North American Management Society Diversity Track. (April 2018).
Best in Track Award, Marketing Management Association Branding & Strategy Track. (April 2018).
Class 14 FBI Citizen’s Academy, Federal Bureau of Investigation. (September 2017).
Best in Track Award, North American Management Society Diversity Track. (March 2017).
See more of Dr. Sims’ awards and accomplishments in her curriculum vitae.
Leadership & Appointments
Professor, UCO College of Business Department of Marketing
Former President, National Communication Association
Former Dean, UCO Jackson College of Graduate Studies
Former Founding Dean, UCO University College
Former U.S. Director, Swansea @UCO Ph.D. Program, Swansea Univ., Wales, UK
Former Manager, UCO Broncho Education and Learning Lab (BELL)
Fellow and Former President, Marketing Management Association
Peer Corp Member, Higher Learning Commission
Former President, North American Management Society
RECENT PUBLISHED INTELLECTUAL CONTRIBUTIONS
(*) denotes publications with student co-authors
Sims, J. (2026, in press). Moments in soul-journ: When my soul needs refuge. Cajun Queen Press.
Perkins, B. & Sims, J. (2026). Inside out: Transformative learning stories and strategies from incarcerated students. Cascade Books.
Scott, C., Sims, J. D., & Wilson, C. (2025). Advancing diversity training for police officers through community-based multicultural immersion practices: Recommendations for law enforcement trainers and managers. Journal of the North American Management Society, 14(1), 1-16.
Wright, L., Iwelunmore, J., Sims, J. (2023).Dear health promotion scholar: Letters of life from, for, and about Black women. Health Promotion Practice, 24(1), 31-36.
*Sims, J., Cunliff, E.,Wright, Z.(Eds.)(2022).Breaking barriers: 50 strategies for overcoming adversity to achieve transformative learning. University of Central Oklahoma.
*Sims, J. (2022).Encountering disruption like superheroes: Slowing down, speeding up, and using a CAPE model.
J.D. Sims, E. Cunliff, & Z. Wright (Eds.), Breaking barriers: 50 strategies for overcoming adversity to achieve transformative learning. University of Central Oklahoma.
Sims, J., & Cunliff, E. (2022). Transformative learning in our past, present, and future: A retrospective review toward greater heights. Journal of Transformative Learning, 9(1), 1-3.
Austin, J., Orbe, M., Sims, J. (Eds.)(2022).Communication theory: Racially diverse and inclusive perspectives. Cognella.
Sims, J. & Cunliff, E.(2022).The four-faceted model of accelerating leader identity. In J.T. Austin, M. Orbe, and J.D. Sims (Eds.),Communication theory: Racially diverse and inclusive perspectives. Cognella.
Sims, J.(2021).“We are Here” series of poems and prose. In A.R. Scott, C. E. Crutchfield III, and C.L. Scott(Eds.),Minnesota’s Black Community in the 21stCentury. Minnesota Historical Society Press.
Samaraweera, M., Sims, J., & Homsey, D. (2021). Will a green color and nature images make consumers pay more for a green product? Journal of Consumer Marketing, 38(3), 305-312.
Sims, J.(2020). No gentlemen’s agreement here: Higher education reflections on being womanist and the dialectics present in an African American woman’s administrative journey. In J. Cubbage (Ed.), Developing women leaders in the academy through enhanced communication strategies. Lanham, Maryland: Lexington.
*Sims, J., Cunliff, E., Dore, A.(Eds.)(2019). Inspired learning: 50 insights from personal transformative learning journeys. University of Central Oklahoma.
* Sims, J., Neese, A., Henson, A., Sims, A., & Glidden T.(2019). Diversity initiative schemas: Students’ cognitive representations of managing diversity on college campuses. Journal of the North American Management Society, 12(2), 24-34.
Sims, J.(2019). Rhythm, movement, and patterns: How a love of dance stimulated a love of learning. In J.D. Sims, E. Cunliff, and A. Dore (Eds.), Inspired learning: 50 insights from personal transformative journeys. University of Central Oklahoma.
*Sims, J., Cunliff, E., Sims, A., Robertson, K.(2018). Probing leadership from racio-ethnic perspectives in higher education: An emergent model of accelerating leader identity. In J. L .Chin, J. E. Trimble, and J.E. Garcia (Eds.), Global and culturally diverse leaders and leadership: New dimensions and challenges for business, education, and society (pp. 183-209). Bingley, UK: Emerald.
See more of Dr. Sims’ publications, presentations, and conference proceedings in her curriculum vitae.
NCA Presidential Address
National Communication Association, 2025
Dr. Sims reflects on the accomplishments and growth of the National Communication Association (NCA) under her tenure as the 111th NCA President in 2025. She emphasizes the year’s theme of L.I.F.T., or Leading with Imagination and Forward Thinking, and outlines key lessons learned that will guide NCA’s future growth and direction.
NCA VLO: Fall Virtual Healing Space
National Communication Association, 2025
2025 NCA President Dr. Jeanetta Sims and NCA First President Dr. Tina Harris provide strategies for keeping sane, tips for coping, and vehicles of community critical to well-being in an online workshop for National Communication Association members.
Black Girl Magic
Houston Community College, 2020
Dr. Sims joins the Black Girl Magic lineup to lead a workshop hosted by the Student Government Association. She provided students with insights on how to become effective leaders, connect with others around them, and navigate diverse teams and audiences.
TeTalks
Center for Excellence in Transformative Teaching & Learning
University of Central Oklahoma, 2014
Award-winning teacher and researcher Dr. Jeanetta Sims presents an approach where course objectives are reached through student-driven processes. She dives into tailoring content to students’ interests in co-created spaces to develop co-created courses.