The Gwen Ifill College of Media, Arts, and Humanities

The Gwen Ifill College of Media, Arts, and Humanities cultivates trailblazers and leaders. Here, you'll study the modes of expression through which we record and interpret the human experience.

Hallway in The Gwen Ifill College of Media, Arts, and Humanities

"We can't expect the world to get better by itself." — Gwen Ifill

Our students view society through the multi-faceted lenses of language, narrative, art, music, film and contemporary media. You'll hone your creative abilities through real-world projects and on-the-job learning experiences.

As a pioneering Black woman journalist, Gwen Ifill '77 '93HD broke through barriers of prejudice and stands as a model of professional excellence and a purposeful life. The Ifill College aims to carry on that legacy for the next generations. Our mission:

  • We are a community of educators and learners guided by intellectual curiosity, critical thinking, and generosity of spirit.
  • We derive strength from our differences and pursue civic engagement through humanistic inquiry that values language, lived experience, artistic expression, and imagination.
  • We give voice to our stories, past and present, individual and global, told and untold, to influence a future whose questions have yet to be asked. 

How will you do the hard work of imagining a more just future?


Look back at the highlights and successes of the past year of the Gwen Ifill College of Media, Arts, and Humanities - The Year in Review 2020-2021

Headshot of Diane Grossman

Meet the Dean

Diane Grossman is the Interim Dean of The Gwen Ifill College of Media, Arts, and Humanities.

Meet the Dean

Sheldon George

Our Faculty

You’ll study with faculty who are thought-leaders and award winners, researchers and professionals in their fields.

Faculty Profiles

About the College


Gwen Ifill speaking at a past Simmons Commencement

Meet Gwen Ifill

Best known as a successful and much admired television news anchor, Gwen Ifill launched her career here at Simmons.

Judy Woodruff, Dean Brian Norman, Asma Khalid, Maya Valentine and Yamiche Alcindor onstage during the Ifill Forum.

Ifill Forum

The Ifill Forum is our annual signature event in honor of Gwen Ifill and her legacy as a ground-breaking Black woman journalist. We invite alumnae, community members, students, faculty, staff, and friends of Gwen Ifill to experience an event where important national voices come together for a conversation of a pressing issue. The Ifill Forum seeks to ask the questions that Gwen herself would be asking of our world today.

The cupola at Simmons University

Statement of Solidarity for Racial Justice

Read the Gwen Ifill College of Media, Arts, and Humanities' statement of solidarity for racial justice.

Professor and student in conversation

Mentoring

Among Gwen Ifill’s legacies is a commitment to mentoring and to nurturing a diverse and talented next generation.

Laura Prieto, 2019-2022 Alumni Chair for Public Engagement

Public Engagement

The Alumni Chair in Public Engagement is a signature program for how The Ifill College engages the world and demonstrates the role of the arts, media, and humanities to a vibrant, diverse democracy.

Students gathered in the Ifill college common area

Student Opportunities

We cultivate a diverse and talented generation of trailblazers who are poised to become leaders in their professions and in their communities.

Current Faculty Resources

Information for our current faculty, including funding opportunities.

Recent News

Living a Triggered Life podcast poster

Roxann Mascoll ’15MSW Integrates Art and Social Work to Address Trauma Experienced by Black and Brown Men

For 18 years, Roxann Mascoll ’15MSW worked as a domestic violence specialist. She is now Lead Clinician for The Triggered Project, a non-profit that includes a play and film that addresses how Black and Brown men experience and process childhood trauma.


Agency mentor Aaron Pickering, Vice President of Headstand, mentors Studio 5 students.

Studio 5 Imparts Real-World Industry Experience to Communications Students

Essentially a student-run communications agency, Studio 5 gives Communications students at Simmons a taste of real work experience. We spoke with Communications professors and recent alumnae/i about what makes Studio 5 such a successful exercise in experiential learning.


Linda Siperstein Adler ’73 seated at a table during her 50th class reunion

Linda Siperstein Adler ’73 Writes (Technically) for Robots

Linda Siperstein Adler shares her career experiences in publishing and technical writing, and her work as chair of the 50th Reunion Committee for the Class of 1973.


Headshot of Suzanne Leonard

Why the World Needs Simmons: Insights on Contemporary Feminism from Professor Suzanne Leonard

Suzanne Leonard , Professor of Literature and Writing, and the director of the MA in Gender and Cultural Studies, teaches courses on Feminist Media Studies, Women's and Gender Studies, and American Literature at Simmons. The co-editor of Imagining We in...


Maggie Knowles Headshot

Maggie Knowles '02 Helps Celebrate Local Food Culture and Agricultural Sustainability

As the Editor-in-Chief of edible MAINE, a print and digital magazine that explores Maine’s food scene, alumna Maggie Knowles promotes a holistic approach to the culinary arts and food production. Knowles spoke with us about her love for writing and food, and how Simmons helped her achieve her dreams.


Photo of Mary Dowling Marino

The Accidental CPA: How Communications Strengthened a Career in Accounting

Mary Dowling Marino ’73 shares her journey, from majoring in Communications at Simmons to “accidentally” becoming a Certified Public Accountant (CPA).


Adunni Slackman Anderson and President Wooten

Adunni Slackman Anderson '73 on the Influence of Strong Leaders

Dr. Adunni Slackman Anderson '73 has spent her career as a leader in education. For over 20 years, she served as Principal for the Montclair Public Schools, and for 10 years as the Lower School Head/Primary School Director for Kent Place School, a private, independent school for girls. We spoke to Slackman Anderson about how Simmons shaped her career, and her advice for future leaders.


Photo of Maria Karagianis

Trailblazing Reporter Maria Karagianis ’70 Shares the Power of Stories, Rebellion, and Luck

Coming of age in the 1960s and 70s, Maria Karagianis witnessed tumultuous protests. As a staff writer for The Boston Globe, she covered desegregation in Boston, apartheid in South Africa, and Syrian refugees in the Greek islands. She is a Pulitzer Prize winner, a Woodrow Wilson Visiting Fellow, and founder of the non-profit organization Discovering Justice.


Departments


Upcoming Events

Book Talk on Black Bodies in Visual Culture with Kimberly Juanita Brown

  • Mar 19, 2024
  • 4:00 pm to 6:00 pm
  • Lefavour Hall, Kotzen Room (E-001/E-002)

Ifill Forum 2024: “Democracy on the Edge”

  • Apr 2, 2024
  • 12:00 pm to 2:00 pm
  • Linda K Paresky Conference Center