Ruth J. Simmons (born 1945 in Grapeland, Texas), is the 18th president of Brown University and first black president of an Ivy League institution. According to a January 2007 poll by the Brown Daily Herald, Simmons enjoys a more than 80% approval rating among Brown undergraduates. Brown University is a private university located in Providence, Rhode Island. ... Gordon Gee Elwood Gordon Gee (born February 2, 1944) is an American academic. ... Grapeland is a city located in Houston County, Texas. ... Dillard University is a private, faith based liberal arts college in New Orleans, Louisiana. ... 1945 (MCMXLV) was a common year starting on Monday. ... Grapeland is a city located in Houston County, Texas. ... Brown University is a private university located in Providence, Rhode Island. ... For the record label, see Ivy League Records. ... The Brown Daily Herald, the student newspaper of Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, is the fifth-oldest college daily newspaper in the United States. ...

Simmons holds 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. She graduated from Dillard University, B.A. 1967 in New Orleans and received her doctorate in Romance Literature from Harvard University, A.M. 1970; PhD 1973. She was a professor of Romance Languages and became a dean at Princeton University, 1983-1990, became first African-American woman to head a top ranked college or university as president of Smith College (from 1995 to 2001), and ultimately president of Brown in 2001. The Newsweek logo Newsweek is a weekly news magazine published in New York City and distributed throughout the United States and internationally. ... Time, (whose trademark is capitalized TIME) is a weekly American newsmagazine, similar to Newsweek and U.S. News & World Report. ... Dillard University is a private, faith based liberal arts college in New Orleans, Louisiana. ... New Orleans is the largest city in the state of Louisiana, United States of America. ... Harvard University (incorporated as The President and Fellows of Harvard College) is a private university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. Founded in 1636,[2] Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States. ... Princeton University is a coeducational private university located in Princeton, New Jersey, in the United States of America. ... Smith College, located in Northampton, Massachusetts, is the largest womens college in the United States []. Smith admits only female undergraduates, but admits both men and women as graduate students. ...

Simmons started the engineering program at Smith. At Brown, she has launched an ambitious $1.4 billion initiative known as the Campaign for Academic Enrichment in order to enhance Brown’s academic programs.

In a 2006 orientation meeting with parents, Simmons denied interest in the presidency of Harvard University, which at the time was headed by an interim president, Derek Bok. Nevertheless, a 2007 New York Times article, featuring a photograph of Simmons, reported that the Harvard Corporation, responsible for selecting the University's replacement for former president Lawrence Summers had been given a list of "potential candidates" that included her name. ("Headhunters at Harvard May Pick a Woman" 1/8/2007) Harvard University (incorporated as The President and Fellows of Harvard College) is a private university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. Founded in 1636,[2] Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States. ... Derek Curtis Bok (born March 22, 1930) is an American lawyer and educator. ... The New York Times is an internationally known daily newspaper published in New York City and distributed in the United States and many other nations worldwide. ... The President and Fellows of Harvard College (also known as the Harvard Corporation) is the more fundamental of Harvard Universitys two governing boards. ... Lawrence Henry (Larry) Summers (born November 30, 1954) is an American economist and academic. ...

Simmons also serves on the boards of Texas Instruments and Goldman Sachs. She announced in 2007 that she would not seek re-election to the board of directors Pfizer, Inc. after serving on the board for 10 years. [2] Texas Instruments (NYSE: TXN), better known in the electronics industry (and popularly) as TI, is an American company based in Dallas, Texas, USA, renowned for developing and commercializing semiconductor and computer technology. ... Goldman Sachs offices at the Fraumünsterplatz in Zürich (the light-colored building on the left) The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. ... Pfizer, Incorporated (NYSE: PFE), is a global pharmaceutical company, with headquarters in New York City. ...

External links

• Brown site