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.”
Other prominent individuals with connections to Prairie View A&M, such as Elizabeth Alexander, president of the Mellon Foundation, and Darren Walker, president of the Ford Foundation, were among the honored recipients of this year's National Humanities Medals. Dr. Simmons previously invited Alexander to speak with the campus community at Prairie View A&M in November 2022.
After an incredible 50 years, Ruth J. Simmons is still influencing education today as the President's Distinguished Fellow at Rice University.
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