First Ward Alderman Bertrand Simpson has served the city for three and a half years, but has been an important part of the community for much longer.

Simpson, who has lived in DeKalb for 26 years, said he decided to become an alderman because he wanted to help the community.

“It occurred to me that I was going to continue to live here for a long time in the future, and I thought maybe I could be of some assistance,” Simpson said. “Maybe I could be of some service, and the rest is history.”

While the alderman position is part-time, Simpson said he and the other aldermen work on city matters every day. A typical day for Simpson includes contacting constituents and reviewing material for city council meetings.

“We have to study this material to make sure we’re conversing with the issues,” Simpson said. “We do sometimes informally speak among ourselves in groups of two to simply try to assist each other in understanding the material and where we stand on the issues to try to make the process a little more efficient.”

While Simpson said he does plan to run again for his Ward position in the spring, this is not the only job he has. Simpson also teaches constitutional law part-time at NIU in the political science department.

“I think being able to share ideas that I consider important with some of the bright young people who are at our university and who will someday run our country and the world,I find it very exhilarating to be in their company,” Simpson said. “Just having back and forth discussion and lectures with students, I find it very exciting. It gives me energy, and sometimes it’s even exhilarating.”

This is not Simpson’s first job at the university. He has held six jobs during his 25 years of working at NIU including ombudsman, associate director of what is now the Student Involvement and Leadership Development, assistant to the provost and most recently, director of admission for the law department.

“Dealing with the students is the best part of the university, if you ask me,” Simpson said.

When he’s not working as an alderman or professor, Simpson said he and his wife like to travel. He has visited Paris, Rome, London, Barcelona and Monaco, not to mention several cities in the United States and Canada.

“The world is a much smaller place now as far as getting from one place to another than when I was [younger],” Simpson said. “Traveling is something people should do if they can afford it and if they have the time.”

After visiting several exotic places and seeing different cultures, Simpson, who is originally from Chicago, decided to settle down in DeKalb.

“I like this town because it’s relatively quiet and peaceful,” Simpson said, “But I also like the mix of energy and enthusiasm because it’s a college town.”

Simpson said DeKalb is also unique because of the active role students can take in the town’s political life, using past student involvement in city council and county board as an example. He encourages students to not only involve themselves in philanthropic efforts, but in the political environment as well.

“[Students] have always had a great impact on this town, they always will have a great impact on this town and the more active role they take, the better it is for the community at large,” Simpson said.