Faculty of the Week: Thomas Simpson

By KAI GOWDA, ELAINE QIAO, and JANIBEK SUBKHANBERDIN

A staple in the Religion Department, a caring dorm faculty for Williams House, a vibrant coach for the baseball team, and a stellar alto saxophonist in Pep Band, Instructor in Religion Thomas Simpson is a shining presence all across campus. 

Simpson has taught at the Academy for over fifteen years. He is a dynamic teacher, having taught a plethora of religion courses, including The Holocaust, The Hebrew Bible, Islam, Religion and Popular Culture, Religious Traditions in the United States, Existentialism, Silicon Valley Ethics, Global Ethics, Human Rights and more. He is a dorm faculty for Williams House, one of the all-gender dorms on campus, and an energetic baseball coach in the spring. His two sons, Blake Simspon ‘23 and senior Will Simpson, are fomer and current Exonians. 

Before his employment at Exeter in 2008, Simpson was a professor at a small college in Wisconsin, which he loved. However, this position caused difficulties. “My commute took me away from home for long hours when Blake was only three and Will was only one. We were sleep-deprived, lonely, far from extended family, and trying to buy a house was proving to be prohibitively expensive,” Simpson explained.

“We were desperate to come back east, closer to home, and to have a life that allowed us to be together more in the formative years of Blake and Will’s childhoods. A close friend of mine who teaches and coaches at an independent school suggested that I look for jobs outside higher education, especially because I love teaching and coaching. That’s how I found Exeter,” Simpson continued.

Simpson and his family lived in Ewald Dormitory from 2015-2021. In 2021, they moved into post-dorm housing and Simpson has been a part of the dorm faculty at Williams House since. “My work with Williams House, an all-gender dorm, means the world to me, especially since homophobia, queerphobia, and transphobia were such a toxic and dehumanizing part of the schoolyard and sports cultures I grew up in,” Simpson said.

Residents of William House speak nothing but highly of Simpson. “He definitely cares about his students,” lower Charlie Vance said. “He’s very chill but assigns a lot of reading. He is empathetic, open and calm. He’s also very understanding if we have something that keeps us up and we get in a minute or so late. He always checks in on us and how we’re doing. He is fun, knows a lot of cool things and has been a good listener many times for me.” 

Co-dorm faculty and Instructor in Dance Samm Wesler shared, “Dr. Simpson would write the most beautiful, eloquent, and funny emails to let Will House know when he was on duty!”

Lower and resident of Williams House Tristan Price describes Simpson as “Chill, funny, kind.”

“He has always been very understanding and kind when on duty and is always laughing at my jokes. I remember hanging out with him in the common room, listening to the best music and just vibing,” Price said. 

When describing their experiences with Simpson, colleagues bring up his thoughtful and helpful character. For some, Simpson has been a warm presence and dear friend since their arrival to Exeter. Instructor in English Willie Perdomo fondly remembers how welcoming Simpson and his family were when Perdomo and his wife first arrived in Exeter almost 11 years ago. Since then, Perdomo has recognized Simpson as a cherished colleague, describing him as “always willing to collaborate, enhance, converse, question and innovate.” 

In Simpson’s own department, Instructor in Religion Kaitlyn Martin Fox remarks, “he is never shy about expressing his care and appreciation for others.” 

Simpson’s warmth on campus is unmistakable. Faculty across multiple departments think highly of him and see him as a genuine friend. Instructor in Health Brandon Thomas, for example, remarks, “His ability to listen stands out. I just think his kids are a testament to how great he is. They are both super level-headed, down-to-earth, and really funny. That’s precisely how I’d describe Dr. Simpson.” Both also have a shared love of hip-hop and vinyl collections. 

Simpson is heavily involved in humanitarian and social causes both on and off campus. Some of his fondest memories include traveling with students to Alabama last spring for a study tour focused on racial justice and when he hosted John Forté, Carlton Mackey and Bryan Stevenson for Martin Luther King Jr. Day. 

Simpson is also deeply invested in humanitarian efforts in Bosnia, having hosted colleagues from the affected area for events related to genocide prevention. Among his most important memories in his time here is working with his human rights students to offer messages of support to refugees facing hostile pushbacks at the Croatian border. Simpson has written multiple works on the subject: described by Perdomo, “His written reflections on Bosnia are fantastic.”

“You see a humanitarian lens at work in his writing and his teaching,” Perdomo continued. “You sense the work of an ethicist who understands that there are no easy answers and that, ultimately, our struggle to find truth gives our lives meaning.” 

Simpson concluded by reflecting on the ways he has evolved at Exeter. “I’ve seen so much in my fifteen-plus years here. There’s been mass violence in so many places that have been home to me: places like Charlottesville, Atlanta, Kenosha, and Buffalo. My mom died unexpectedly in the spring of 2015, and I was diagnosed with cancer in 2020, not long after the start of the pandemic…Through it all, I think that my heart has grown, along with my sense that life really is short. Most of all, I hope that I have grown in wisdom and compassion in ways that my students, players, and colleagues can perceive,” Simpson said.