Obituaries

Kenneth Harlan Simmons was born on June 28, 1933, in Muskogee, Oklahoma, and died July 6, 2010 in Johannesburg, South Africa. He received a degree in Biology from Harvard University and a degree in Architecture from the University of California. He became a faculty member at Berkeley’s School of Architecture in 1969. Professor Simmons played a lead role in helping the University to divest from South Africa. After retiring from U.C. Berkeley in 1994, he relocated to Johannesburg where he taught at the University of the Witwatersrand and pioneered numerous community projects.  

Professor Simmons also worked as an architect and planner, specializing in community development and urban planning. He was a partner with the firms Ishimaru, Oneill and Simmons, and Community Design Collaborative. Among some of the noted work for which he was the lead partner is the Dock of the Bay and the Black Repertory Community Center in Berkeley, and Robert Pitts Public Housing, San Francisco. 

As a leading Bay Area community activist, Professor Simmons served as Director of the New Oakland Committee; Coordinator for Housing and Community Development for the S.F. Equal Opportunity Council; and Project Director of the Urban America Hunts Point Multi-Service Center, Bronx, N.Y. From 1975 to 1997, he served on the EBMUD Board of Directors. 

For more information about Professor Simmons, see this site. 

On Saturday, August 21, 2010, a memorial service will be held at Merritt College, the Newton-Seale Conference Room, R-Building, 12500 Campus Drive, Oakland, CA, 94619. The service will commence at 3:00 pm.