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Studying the Trend in Youth Violence "And This Year's Awards Go To..." Smithellanea: Remembering a Theatrical Trailblazer
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Simmons is Smith's Own "Alpha Woman" The January/February issue of More magazine featured Smith President Ruth Simmons -- and 34 other notables, including Hilary Clinton, Madeleine Albright, Marian Wright Edelman, Oprah Winfrey, and Smith board chair Shelly Lazarus '68 -- in a celebration of "the alpha woman": "She's smart, she's seasoned, she's at the top of her game." Even a partial list of Simmons' recent off-campus activities lends ample credence to the designation: January 24: Is appointed to the board of directors of Goldman Sachs Group. The Wall Street Journal notes that Simmons is the first woman director and first African-American director of the prominent securities firm. February 3: Speaks to the Economic Club of Indianapolis, in a forum that previously has welcomed such distinguished opinion leaders as former South African President F.W. de Klerk and NBC foreign correspondent Andrea Mitchell. "The 21st century-and the new millennium-lie before us as a slate on which we can build a future of hope or a future of despair," Simmons declares."Whether you're a Hoosier or a transplanted Texan like me, we all now have the chance to help this country achieve what it long has sought: economic prosperity and equality of opportunity for all segments of our nation-women and men, urban and ex-urban, the elite and common folk." February 18: Accompanied by a reporter from Newsweek, Simmons visits two predominantly black public high schools in her hometown of Houston to encourage students to persist through graduation and aspire to post-secondary education. Repeating a message she often brings to students and teachers, she emphasizes, "Your mind is your most important asset. Don't let anyone deter you from feeding and developing your mind." February 23: Delivers the annual W.E.B. DuBois lecture on race relations at the University of Massachusetts. March 2: Delivers an endowed lecture on campus diversity and affirmative action at Columbia University. March 13: Meets with the Los Angeles Times. Discusses, among other topics, the effects of anti-affirmative action legislation on opportunities for disadvantaged students. Later that day, delivers an invited lecture at the University of California, Riverside titled "Merit Redefined: Access, Equity and Opportunity in Higher Education." "Colleges and universities have an obligation to their time," she tells the appreciative audience of faculty and students. "They serve society. And that is what we most often forget." March 29: "Quest Beyond the Campus," a profile of Simmons and her commitment to racial diversity at leading colleges and universities, appears in the Los Angeles Times. Of her legacy, she is quoted as saying: "I don't want to squander the opportunity I have to lead a place like Smith-and look like me. Sure, I could leave Smith with a better faculty committee structure and some new buildings. But, to me, it's much more important to the college to be in the forefront of those trying to educate students who most need it." |
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