Speaker and Medalists
Speaker and Medalists
Ruth J. Simmons
Keynote Speaker and Medal of Distinction
Ruth J. Simmons, distinguished scholar, author, and president emerita of Smith College, Brown University, and Prairie View A&M University, will receive the Barnard Medal of Distinction and deliver the College’s 2024 Commencement address.
The daughter of sharecroppers, Dr. Simmons grew up in segregated Texas as the youngest of 12 children. She went on to earn degrees in Romance languages and literature from Dillard and Harvard universities, eventually becoming the first African American president of an Ivy League institution, a leader in mobilizing research on the institutional legacy of slavery, and an advocate for opportunity in higher education. Dr. Simmons details these experiences in her bestselling memoir, Up Home: A Young Girl’s Journey.
Dr. Simmons’ transformative vision and leadership led to a number of new academic initiatives at Smith, including the first engineering program at an American women’s college. In her time as the first female president of Prairie View, Dr. Simmons oversaw the creation of an African American studies initiative, the launch of grant programs to support students with financial hardship, and the university’s promotion to R-2 status.
During her 11 years as president of Brown University, Dr. Simmons appointed a committee to investigate Brown’s historical ties to the transatlantic slave trade, which inspired similar initiatives at institutions across the world. She also oversaw major investments in Brown’s faculty and research capacities, in financial support for undergraduate and graduate students, and in campus-wide diversity efforts.
Dr. Simmons is the recipient of numerous honors, including the National Endowment for the Humanities Jefferson Lecture, 2002 Fulbright Lifetime Achievement Medal, and the Centennial Medal from Harvard University. She has received over 40 honorary degrees from universities around the world. She received Brown University’s highest faculty honor, the Susan Colver Rosenberger Medal, in 2011 and was honored by the Prairie View faculty in 2022.