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African American Studies--Scholars Voices Series--When and Where I Enter: Selected Writings of Ruth Simmons

Guide to the literature of African American feminist scholars

Dr. Ruth Jean Simmons

Dr. Ruth Simmons, President of Prairie View A&M University will host a conversation with Paula Giddings at the African American Studies--Scholars Voices Series--When and Where I Enter: A Symposium in Honor of Paula Giddings.  This event is part of the project, Enhancing the Humanities at PVAMU through an African-American Studies Program Initiative, designed to selectively infuse African American Studies content throughout the university’s liberal arts offerings. The initial concept for the program was conceived when Prairie View President Ruth J. Simmons called for the creation of an African-American Studies program in her first campus-wide address. Having directed Afro-American Studies at Princeton and Chaired the African-American Studies Department Visiting Committee at Harvard, President Simmons expressed surprise that the University was without such a program considering the University’s cultural legacy.

Ruth Simmons--The Miracle of School

Ruth Simmons is the current President of Prairie View A&M University. She previously served as the 18th president of Brown University, the first African American president of an Ivy League institution. She also held appointments as a professor in the Departments of Comparative Literature and Africana Studies. In 2002, Newsweek selected her as a Ms. Woman of the Year, while in 2001, Time named her as America's best college president. According to a March 2009 poll by The Brown Daily Herald, Simmons had more than an 80% approval rating among Brown undergraduates. Prior to Brown, she headed Smith College, a Seven Sisters and the largest women's college in the United States, beginning in 1995.  On December 4, 2017, she was officially named the eighth president of Prairie View A&M University, the first woman elected to serve as president for the university.
 
Simmons is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the American Philosophical Society, and the Council on Foreign Relations. She has served as chair of the Council of Ivy Group Presidents and is an honorary fellow of Selwyn College, Cambridge.  Simmons is involved in many social and civic organizations, including Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority.  Simmons has served on the boards of Texas Instruments and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and  Pfizer.
 
On June 17, 2009, The White House announced that President Barack Obama had appointed Dr. Simmons to the President's Commission on White House Fellowships. In February 2010, Simmons received a BET Honors award for her service as president of Brown University. She accepted the Honor along with other nominees, including Sean Combs, Queen Latifah, and Whitney Houston at a ceremony in Washington, D.C. In 2010, she was awarded the Ellis Island Medal of Honor for her many humanitarian efforts.
 

Selected Writings by Ruth J. Simmons

Simmons, R. (1985). Haiti: A study of the educational system of Haiti and a guide to the academic placement of students in educational institutions of the United States. American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Administrations Officers.

Simmons, R. J. (2004). America's relationship with the world: How can languages help?. The French Review, 682-687.

Simmons, R. J. (1984). Gifts and Acquisitions: Women's History Sources Since 1979. The Journal of the Rutgers University Libraries, 46(1).

Simmons, R. J. (2002). Passion, Generosity, and the Academy: Meridians Interview with Ruth J. Simmons. Meridians, 3(1), 42-49.

Simmons, R. J. (2001). President’s Address to Brown University Community. Journal of College and Character, 2(1).

Simmons, R. J. (1993). Report on Campus Race Relations. Princeton University, March I, 11.

Simmons, R. J., Wilder, C. S., Oast, J. B., Baumgartner, K., Morris, J. B., Beckert, S., & Hall, J. C. (2019). Slavery and the University: Histories and Legacies. University of Georgia Press.

Simmons, R. J. (1990). Special Collections and University Archives--Exhibitions, 1990. The Journal of the Rutgers University Libraries, 52(2).

Simmons, R. J. (1997). Viewpoints: Ruth J. Simmons. Civil Rights Journal, 2(1), 48.

Selected articles on Ruth J. Simmons

John B. Coleman Library
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