Rate My Professor Brian Simpkins

Dr. Brian Simpkins serves as Associate Professor of Homeland Security in the School of Safety, Security, and Emergency Management at Eastern Kentucky University. His academic background includes a Ph.D. from the University of Louisville, an Ed.D. and M.S. from Eastern Kentucky University, and a B.A. from Marshall University. Simpkins' research specializations and academic interests encompass intelligence and national security studies, homeland security policy analysis, critical infrastructure protection, and mis-, dis-, and malinformation. He has co-authored multiple books, technical reports, and research papers, and has presented at numerous national and international conferences on topics related to criminal justice, intelligence, and homeland security.

In his career at Eastern Kentucky University, Simpkins has progressed from lecturer to assistant professor and now associate professor. He previously served as Associate Director of the Blue Grass State Intelligence Community Center of Academic Excellence and contributed to the development of the university's intelligence studies programs, including undergraduate and graduate certificates in intelligence studies and national security, as well as a minor in cybersecurity and intelligence. Key publications include the co-authored textbook Homeland Security and Critical Infrastructure Protection (2nd edition, 2018) with Ryan Baggett, which overviews systems and strategies for safeguarding U.S. resources from threats, addressing vulnerabilities in sectors such as agriculture, banking, energy, and transportation through risk analysis, public-private partnerships, and all-hazards approaches. Other works feature Individual Threat and Hazard Preparedness: A Confirmatory Factor Analysis (2019), utilizing the Theory of Planned Behavior to model individual preparedness across protection, response, and recovery mission areas, and an article on student engagement with mis-, dis-, and malinformation through observational research in the Journal of Security, Intelligence, and Resilience Education. Simpkins has earned the Integrating Employability Skills Faculty Award in 2024, the Critical Thinking Teaching Award in 2018 for challenging students' critical reading and thinking skills, and Mentorship of the Month in October 2024 for guiding students in applying coursework to real-world problems via grants and departmental scholarship showcases. His contributions enhance student employability, program development, and research in homeland security.