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Dr. Toni Sims-Muhammad is an exceptionally outstanding Carroll High School Alumnus. Toni graduated in 1987 with several honors and awards such as Louisiana Board of Regents Scholar, Carroll High School Diploma, Monroe City School Board Award for High Scholastic Scholarship (Finishing in the top ten percent of the graduation class). While at CHS, Toni was a member of the Honor Society, CHS Homecoming Court-Ms. Senior Maid, CHS Student Government Association, CHS Choir, and CHS Track Team. Toni received a full scholarship to attended Southern Methodist University in Texas, and after completing one year, she returned to Monroe to attend Northeast Louisiana University where she pursued and completed a degree in Sociology in 1991.

After earning a Masters of Art Degree (Summer 1993) from Grambling State University, she began teaching Sociology in the department of Sociology & Psychology that Fall. In 2002, she earned the Doctor of Arts in Humanities with an ethnic studies concentration - African and African American Studies from Clark Atlanta University. She is one of the first women in the United States to complete a dissertation about the practice of Islam among African American women. Dr. Sims-Muhammad is a trailblazer and torchbearer for Muslim (and non-Muslim) girls and women. She is known and respected by her students and colleagues for her tireless mentoring and service toward academic excellence.

Toni’s higher education career spans 25 years with faculty positions at Grambling State University, Georgia Perimeter College, Western Illinois University, University of Phoenix, the University of Louisiana at Lafayette (where she earned tenure), Livingstone College, Guilford College, Salem Women’s College and currently at Kennesaw State University in the Interdisciplinary Studies Department, African & Africana Diaspora Program and the Sociology Department. Her areas of teaching, research and expertise include social inequality, conflict resolution and communication, team building, race and ethnicity, black studies, black women in American society, marriage and family and countless teaching preparations.

Dr. Toni also serves as Executive Director of Vanguard Educational Services a not for profit organization that models self-improvement as the basis for community development. In 2005, she was an invited presenter at the distinguished Oxford Roundtable at Oxford University in London, England. She has also presented at Southern Sociological Society, Mid-South Sociological Association, National Association of African & African American Studies, Association of Black Sociologist, and holds membership in countless professional societies. She is a scholar in the Directory of American Scholars, Who’s Who of American Scholars of the American Council of Learned Societies and Who’s Who in Social Sciences Higher Education of Academic Keys for the Social Sciences.

In 2011, she was awarded the Lafayette Parish Commission on Women, Woman of Excellence Award for Community Service for her annual community event: A Sister to Sister – Interfaith Dialogue & Spiritual Rally. She coined the term the death of booty in 2010. In 2012, Dr. Toni began a petition to establish National Black Women Heritage Month, an annual event held every JULY – that acknowledges and celebrates the contributions and significance of Black Women in American society and the world.

Books by Dr. Toni include: Dynamics of Multiculturalism: A Study of Teacher and Student Attitudes and Gaining Momentum to Publish: 8 Simple Steps to Getting Professional Publications Tips for Junior & Emerging Scholars and several recent popular print books. Some of her peer refereed publications include assessing The Impact of College Students Mentoring on High School Student Success, Community Food Systems and Networks, Young Adult Perception & Attitude Toward Conspicuous Consumption and Poverty, and Health Issues/Disparities Among Women of Color.