Simpson came to Old Dominion University in January 2008 with more than 15 years' administrative experience. Prior to joining ODU, Simpson was provost and senior vice president at Worcester Polytechnic Institute and before that was associate provost for research and graduate education at Boston University. She also has more than four years' experience as a program officer with the National Science Foundation and has served as a member of the AURA U.S. National Solar Observatory oversight panel among other advisory board memberships.

As a faculty member, Simpson served as professor and chair of the earth sciences department at Boston University, associate professor at Johns Hopkins University, and assistant professor at Virgina Tech, Oklahoma State University and Brown University. An expert in structural geology and tectonics, she has authored more than 50 refereed publications and more than 80 professional conference papers. Simpson's honors include a Best Paper Award from the Geological Society of America (GSA), election as a fellow and councilor of the GSA, and honorary membership in Phi Beta Kappa. She received a bachelor's degree in geology from the University of Wales, a master's in geology from the University of Witwatersrand in South Africa, and a doctorate in structural geology from ETH Zurich in Switzerland.