Simon received his Bachelor of Arts degree in political science, journalism and urban teacher education from Rutgers University in 1974, where he was co-founder and managing editor of the weekly newspaper on the Rutgers/Livingston campus. Simon also received a Master of Mass Communication degree from the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University in 1990 and a doctorate from the School of Public Affairs in 1993 at the Arizona State University.
