Wednesday, Oct. 14, 2009 at 8 p.m.
Tuesday, Nov. 17, 2009 at 8 p.m.
Wednesday, April 14, 2010 at 8 p.m.Ruth J. Simmons
Friday, Oct. 19, 2007
Relating to Civil Rights
President’s Lecture Series of Diverse Scholars and Annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Lecture
The 18th president of Brown University, Ruth J. Simmons is the first African-American to lead an Ivy League institution. A professor of French before entering university administration,Simmons also holds an appointment as a professor of comparative literature and of Africana studies at Brown. She will speak on the theme of Civil Rights.
Prior to going to Brown, Simmons served in various administrative roles at the University of Southern California, Princeton University and Spelman College. She also served as president of Smith College, the largest women’s college in the United States. While at Princeton, Simmons prepared the 1993 Report on Campus Race Relations, which resulted in such initiatives as the appointment of an ombuds officer, the establishment of a Race Relations Working Group and an effort to better coordinate race relations activities. At Smith, she launched a number of initiatives, including an engineering program that was the first at an American women’s college.
The recipient of many honors, including a Fulbright Fellowship, the 2001 President’s Award from the United Negro College Fund, the 2002 Fulbright Lifetime Achievement Medal and the 2004 Eleanor Roosevelt Val-Kill Medal, Simmons serves on a number of boards, including those of Texas Instruments and The Goldman Sachs Group.
