Omeka Digital Exhibits
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Simmons University Digital Archives
1972 Commencement Address - Coretta Scott King (audio)
Princess of Thailand Paying Royal Visit to Simmons today
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Simmons University Website
Decades before women in America gained the right to vote, Boston businessman John Simmons had a revolutionary idea — that women should be able to earn independent livelihoods and lead meaningful lives. Since its opening in 1899, Simmons has offered a pioneering liberal arts education for undergraduate women integrated with professional work experience. Today, Simmons also offers renowned coeducational graduate programs in health sciences, education, liberal arts, library and information science, management, and social work.
Two students in a science lab, circa 1920s. Photo courtesy of University Archives.
Lydia Brown was the first Black student to graduate from Simmons College in 1914. Throughout her career, she worked as a delegate, translator, and public school teacher. Most notably, she worked as a delegate and translator of French, German, and Spanish for the Pan-African Congress in Paris, London, and Brussels, in 1921.
Bertha Capen Reynolds (1885–1978)
Bertha Capen Reynolds was a social worker who in 1925, became the Associate Director of the Smith College School of Social Work.
Dorothy Celeste Boulding Ferebee (1898–1980)
Dorothy Celeste Boulding Ferebee helped pioneer the way for Black women in medicine as she fought against racism and worked to improve access to healthcare in underserved communities.
Gwen Ifill was a journalist, television newscaster and anchor, and author, and the first African-American women to moderate a Vice-Presidential debate in 2004.
Jean A. Dowdall joined Simmons in 1993 as the first woman to serve as president of the College until 1995. Despite her short tenure, Dowdall worked to develop a strategic plan that not only affirmed Simmons' commitment to life-long learning, but also created room for the development of a more comprehensive and integrated curriculum that would support a diverse and inclusive educational community
Maria Karagianis is a Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter who served as one of the first full-time female staff writers for The Boston Globe. She has reported on major breaking news stories, including desegregation in Boston, apartheid in South Africa, and Syrian refugees in the Greek islands.