Ruth Simmons, president, Brown University
Before becoming the first black woman president of Brown University in 2001 (and the first African American to head an Ivy League institution for that matter), Ruth Simmons served as president of Smith College, the largest women's college in the U.S. A graduate of Dillard University, Brown received a Ph.D. in romance languages and literature at Harvard. Shortly after, she authored a book on education in Haiti. She has also served as an administrator and scholar at Princeton, the University of Southern California and Spelman. At Smith, she started an engineering program and at Brown, Simmons has led initiatives to push for diversity and expanded financial aid for all students. She has also invested significantly in technology at the Rhode Island University. In 2001, Time magazine named Simmons, who has also received numerous honorary doctorates from various universities, America's Best College President.
*Dr. Brown was selected as one of the Top Ten Black Women in Higher Education.
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Wednesday, July 13th 2005 at 5:23PM
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