Former PVAMU president receives prestigious honor from President Joe Biden at White House

President Joe Biden, Dr. Ruth Simmons and Dr. Jill Biden

 Dr. Ruth Simmons, former Prairie View A&M University president, received the National Humanities Medal from President Joe Biden at the White House on October 21, 2024.

President Joe Biden presented the National Humanities Medal to Ruth J. Simmons, the eighth president of Prairie View A&M University and the first female president in the school’s history, at a White House event. The award recognizes people who have made significant contributions to history and cultural access that have improved our knowledge of the human condition.

Dr. Simmons officially became the eighth president of Prairie View A&M on December 4, 2017 after serving as interim president for six months. During her tenure as president, Dr. Simmons made major advancements at the university, including growing the university’s endowment by 40%. There was also an increase in fundraising activities, which led to more financial aid for students.

Dr. Simmons successfully directed the $50 million contribution from billionaire philanthropist MacKenzie Scott to transformational projects at the university in 2020. Among those projects were the founding of the acclaimed Toni Morrison Writing Program and the Ruth J. Simmons Center for Race and Justice, which were named after the well-known novelist and former student of Dr. Simmons, MacKenzie Scott.

As an esteemed professor of Romance language literature, Dr. Simmons has received accolades for her scholarly accomplishments, community involvement, and cultural contributions. Among her honors are the Fulbright Lifetime Achievement Medal, the Harvard University Centennial Medal, and fellowship invitations from the American Philosophical Society and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. She was also named a Chevalier of the French Legion of Honor and earned the Susan Colver Rosenberger Medal from Brown University.

President Biden highlighted the vital role that Dr. Simmons and other honorees play in society at the event, saying, “You all help us find meaning and purpose in the ordinary as well as the extraordinary, providing hope, wisdom, and laughter when we needed it, and we needed a way forward. With absolute courage, you combat racial stereotypes, confront ghosts of history, and speak truth to power.”

Simmons formerly served as as Brown’s 18th president from 2001 to 2012, the first Black and woman to hold the position at the Ivy League school. Her 11 years as Brown president were also marked by growth in the University’s research and academic programs, major expansions in student financial aid, faculty growth, campus renewal and the completion of the $1.4 billion Boldly Brown fundraising campaign in support of Brown’s aspirations.  Prior to Brown, Simmons served at Smith College, the largest women’s college in the United States. At Smith, she launched a number of important academic initiatives, including an engineering program, the first at an American women’s college.

Simmons currently serves as a president’s distinguished fellow at Rice University and as a senior adviser to the president on engagement with historically Black colleges and universities at Harvard.

The honors keep coming!