Biography of ruth j simmons

American scholar and academic chief (born 1945)

Ruth Simmons (born Ruth Jean Stubblefield,^[1] July 3, 1945) is an American professor impressive academic administrator.

Simmons served pass for the eighth president of Undecorated View A&M University, a historically Black university (HBCU), from 2017 until 2023.^[2][3][4] From 2001 recognize 2012, she served as probity 18th president of Brown College, where she was the rule African-American president of an Vine League institution.

During her former at Brown, Simmons was called the best college president saturate Time magazine. Prior to Brownish University, she headed Smith Institute, one of the Seven Sisters and the largest women's academy in the United States, steps in 1995. During her period of office, Smith College launched the head accredited engineering program at small all-women's college.

Simmons is simple professor of literature specializing newest the Romance languages. As many 2017, Simmons is a duplicate of the American Academy be fitting of Arts and Sciences, the Dweller Philosophical Society (1997), an optional fellow of Selwyn College, City, and a Chevalier of probity French Legion of Honor.

In February 2023, Simmons announced plans to advise Harvard Medical centre on fostering relationships with historically black universities (HBCUs).^[5] As interrupt April 2023, Simmons serves primate a President's Distinguished Fellow fob watch Rice University.^[6]

Early life and education

Simmons was born in Grapeland, Texas.

She is the last achieve 12 children of Fanny (née Campbell) and Isaac Stubblefield.^[7][8] Take five father was a sharecropper^[9] rim until the family moved interruption Houston during her school life-span. Her paternal grandfather descends near from the Benza and Kotar people, enslaved people from Gabon,^[10][11] while her maternal line anticipation traced back to the ferocious peoples of America.^[12]

While in nursery school, one of her teachers, Vernell Lillie, talked to her high opinion attending college, something she locked away never considered before.^[13] She due her bachelor's degree, on exhibition, from Dillard University in Unusual Orleans, Louisiana, in 1967.

She earned her master's and unblended doctorate in Romance literature break Harvard University in 1970 with the addition of 1973, respectively.^[14]

Career

Early academic positions

Simmons was an assistant professor of Gallic at the University of Newborn Orleans (UNO) from 1973 give somebody the job of 1976 and assistant dean holdup UNO's College of Liberal Discipline from 1975 to 1976.

She moved to California State Creation, Northridge in 1977 as managerial coordinator of its NEH Bountiful Studies Project. From 1978 in half a shake 1979, she was acting official of California State University, Northridge's International Programs and visiting colleague professor of Pan-African Studies.^[15]

Simmons prudent to the University of Meridional California in 1979 as minor dean of graduate studies pole later as associate dean a number of graduate studies.^[16] In 1983, she moved to Princeton University gain served as assistant dean supplementary faculty, and later as partner dean of faculty from 1986 to 1990.

Simmons served bit provost at Spelman College strange 1990 to 1991 and exchanged to Princeton, where she served as vice provost from 1992 to 1995.^[15]

In 1995, Simmons was selected as president of Explorer College, which she led on hold 2001. As president of Economist College, Simmons started the gain victory engineering program at a U.S.

woman's college.^[17]

In November 2000, Simmons was named as the cap African-American woman to head implicate Ivy League school.^[18][19] She on the face of it assumed office in October 2001, succeeding Gordon Gee. She further held appointments as a academic in the departments of Approximate Literature and Africana Studies.

Suspend 2002, Ms. magazine named bodyguard a Woman of the Year; in 2001, Time named an alternative as America's best college president.^[20]

At Brown, she launched a $1.4 billion initiative known as Boldly Brown: The Campaign for Legal Enrichment to enhance Brown's collegiate programs.

The campaign would excel its original goal, raising $1.61 billion.^[21] In 2004, former Browned student Sidney E. Frank idea the largest aggregate monetary giving to Brown in its narration in the amount of $120 million.^[22]

In 2007, philanthropist Warren Alpert made a similar contribution erect strengthen the programs of Picture Warren Alpert Medical School bear out Brown University in the inadequately of $100 million.

As widespread in a May 22, 2009 press release, Brown Chancellor Clocksmith J. Tisch announced the beforehand attainment of the $1.6 number fundraising campaign and the enlarged pursuit of specific subsidiary goals in support of endowments production student scholarships of the Toast 1 faculty and internationalization programs safe the originally planned campaign view be continued through December 31, 2010.^[23]

In 2006, during an upend meeting with parents, Simmons denied interest in the presidency hegemony Harvard University, headed at blue blood the gentry time by interim president Derek Bok.

Nevertheless, a 2007 New York Times article, featuring adroit photograph of Simmons, reported ditch the Harvard Corporation, responsible do selecting the university's replacement intend former president Lawrence Summers, confidential been given a list disbursement "potential candidates" that included deduct name.^[24]

In August 2007, Simmons was invited to deliver the Sixtieth Annual Reading of the important 1790 George WashingtonLetter to Touro Synagogue at the Synagogue embankment Newport, Rhode Island, in agree to Moses Seixas on holy pluralism.^[25] According to a Go 2009 poll by The Heat Daily Herald, Simmons had other than an 80% approval paygrade among Brown undergraduates.^[26]

In September 2011, Simmons announced that she would step down from her peep as President of Brown contention the end of the 2011–12 academic year, initially saying she would remain at Brown owing to a professor of comparative erudition and Africana studies.

She was succeeded as the President loom Brown on June 30, 2012, by Christina Paxson.^[27]

Goldman Sachs r“le and compensation

Simmons earned annual compensations of more than $300,000 newcomer disabuse of Goldman Sachs (on top give a rough idea her annual salary from Warm of more than $500,000), make your mind up serving on the Goldman food of directors during the 2007–2008 financial crisis; in addition, she left the Goldman board (which she had joined in 2000) in 2009 with more amaze $4.3 million in Goldman stock.^[28][29] During her term on Goldman's board, she also served go ahead the compensation committee of Goldman's ten-person board, which decided come what may large Goldman executives' post-crash endowments would be: these bonuses contained a $68 million bonus let in the company's chairman and Administrative, Lloyd C.

Blankfein, in 2007, and a $9 million in addition in 2009, after Goldman agreed money in the federal Sheet bailout.^[28][29] The revelations of Simmons's role received intense criticism pass up both alumni and students merge with a then-sophomore stating that Simmons's actions "brought shame on authority university."^[28] Simmons was cited fashionable the 2010 film Inside Job, as an example of goodness conflicts of interest between order of the day economics departments and deregulation show signs financial institutions.^[30]

Transnational initiatives at Brown

In 2003, Simmons established the University Steering Committee on Slavery submit Justice. In 2006, the Report of the Brown University Helmsmanship Committee on Slavery and Justice was published, examining the university's complex history with the remote slave trade.^[31][32][33] On February 16, 2007, at an event celebrating the 200th anniversary of rank passage of the Slave Dealings Act 1807 and the condition of Cambridge University alumni William Wilberforce, Thomas Clarkson and William Pitt the Younger, Simmons free a lecture at St.

John's College, Cambridge, entitled Hidden prickly Plain Sight: Slavery and Objectiveness in Rhode Island.^[34] Also embankment February 2007, Brown University publicised its official Response to loftiness Report of the Steering Panel on Slavery and Justice mass the completion of the controversy undertaken by the committee appointive by Simmons.^[35]

In October 2007, Simmons appointed David W.

Kennedy, by reason of vice president for international affairs.^[36] Brown and Banco Santander clench Spain inaugurated an annual array of International Advanced Research Institutes to convene younger scholars chomp through emerging and developing countries near Brown in a signing anniversary on November 13, 2008, administrator the John Hay Library betwixt Brown provost David Kertzer increase in intensity Emilio Botin, chairman of Banco Santander.^[37] In March 2010, Simmons traveled to India as best part of a program called distinction Year of India, dedicated comprise improving the understanding of Asian history, politics, education, and urbanity among Brown students and faculty.^[38][39]

On September 15, 2011, Simmons declared that she would retire escaping the Brown presidency at honourableness end of the academic era, June 30, 2012.^[40]

In 2017, fend for five years of retirement, Simmons accepted an offer to befriend as the interim president an assortment of Prairie View A&M University, double-cross HBCU in her home affirm of Texas.

She served in the same way interim president from July 1, 2017 to December 3, 2017.^[41] On December 4, 2017, she was selected as the oneeighth president of Prairie View A&M University, becoming the first lass to do so.^[42][43]

At Prairie Posture A&M, Simmons focused her efforts on improving the university's monetarist stability, particularly on fundraising labor an anonymous donor for excellence Panther Success Grants for undergraduates.

Her vision for the home was to "ensure that Featureless View A&M University sustains goodness in teaching, research, and find ways to help for another 140-plus years...we longing raise funds in a additional and vital way so guarantee the University will have integrity flexibility it needs to contact and make more visible untruthfulness reach."^[9][44] On March 11, 2022, Simmons announced that she would retire from her role although president when the university given name her successor.^[2]

In 2022, Prairie Process A&M announced that scholarships abstruse increased and donations to authority university had grown by 40% during Simmons’ 5-year presidency.^[4]

Civic activities and honors

• Simmons is a corollary of the American Academy carry out Arts and Sciences,^[45] the Earth Philosophical Society,^[46] and the Senate on Foreign Relations.

  She then served as chair of excellence Council of Ivy Group Presidents and is an honorary gentleman of Selwyn College, Cambridge.^[47]

• In 2000, Simmons received the Golden Give attention to Award of the American Institution of Achievement.^[48]
• On June 17, 2009, The White House President Barack Obama appointed Dr.

  Simmons sort out the President's Commission on Chalk-white House Fellowships.^[49]

• On January 16, 2010, Simmons received a BET Honors award for her service hoot president of Brown University.^[50]
• In 2010, she was awarded the Ellis Island Medal of Honor solution her many humanitarian efforts.^[51]
• In 2012, Brown University renamed Lincoln Universe in her honor as Distress J.

  Simmons Quadrangle.^[52]

• In 2012, Simmons received honorary doctorates from Mt. Sinai School of Medicine, authority University of Oklahoma, the Habit of Houston, and the Sanitarium of Rochester.^[53]
• Simmons was named keen Chevalier of the French Multiple of Honor in 2012.^[54]
• Simmons was selected for the inaugural 2021 Forbes 50 Over 50; thankful up of entrepreneurs, leaders, scientists and creators who are else the age of 50.^[55]
• In 2023, Brown University renamed its Center for the Study of Thrall and Justice in honor disregard Simmons.^[56][57]
• Also in 2023, Simmons unasked for the 2023 Jefferson Lecture tension the Humanities at the Smithsonian National Museum of African Denizen History and Culture.^[58]
• In 2024, Simmons was elected as a colleague of the Texas Institute admire Letters.^[59]

Works

See also

References

Further reading

• Simmons, Ruth Count. (2023). Up Home: One Girls Journey. Penguin Random House. ISBN . (memoir)

External links