Lou Anna Kimsey Simon is an American academic administrator who served as the 20th president of Michigan State University (MSU).

[5][6] On June 8, 2004, the MSU Board of Trustees voted unanimously to appoint Simon as President with a three-year, US $340,000-a-year, contract effective January 1, 2005.

[11] Simon signed her resignation letter with her title "John A. Hannah Distinguished Professor," a prestigious professorship most were unaware she had been awarded the previous December.

[12] Following her resignation, Simon's contract allowed for a 12-month research leave at her full presidential salary, after which she could officially assume her faculty position in the department of educational administration.

[12] On November 20, 2018, Simon was charged with two felonies and two misdemeanor counts for lying to the police about her knowledge of sexual abuse committed by Nassar.

Elected to the position one week after the committee's sanctions of Penn State for the university's part in the Jerry Sandusky child sex abuse case, Simon said her goal was to "build trust and confidence back in the system.