Harriette L. Chandler
Massachusetts State Senator
Harriette (Harlee) L. Chandler ‘83MBA (born 1937) is a retired Massachusetts State Senator (for the 1st Worcester District) and the 94th President of the Massachusetts Senate. She made history by becoming the first woman to be elected Senator of her District. Chandler’s interest in politics emerged from her passion for education. From 1991 to 1994, she served on the Worcester School Committee. As Chandler told Simmons News in a recent interview, “One of the things I learned at Simmons was to make up your mind and just do it, so I did. I ran for the school committee and won an outstanding victory. They had not had a woman on the committee in a number of years.”
As a politician, Chandler prioritized women’s rights and health. One of her crowning achievements is the Roe Act. “When Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg died, we knew there wasn’t much time left to protect the women of Massachusetts. The main point of the bill was to enshrine into law the right to an abortion for the women of Massachusetts,” she conveyed to Simmons News. Senator Chandler’s political legacy is, therefore, unprecedented and profound.
Degrees
- MBA, 1983
Program(s) of Study
- Business
Harriette L. Chandler in the News
Simmons University Celebrates the Class of 2025
On Friday, May 16, 2025, Simmons University celebrated the 120th Commencement Ceremonies at the MGM Music Hall at Fenway. These events honored the many accomplishments of the Class of 2025. Over 500 baccalaureate degrees and nearly 1,500 graduate degrees were awarded.
Simmons Names 2025 Commencement Speakers and Honorary Degree Recipients
Simmons University will recognize two Honorary Degree recipients during the 2025 Commencement ceremonies. Long-serving Massachusetts State Senator and women’s rights advocate Harriette L. Chandler ’83MBA, and visionary leader and former CEO of Boston Children’s Hospital Sandra L. Fenwick ’72.
Senator Harriette L. Chandler ’83MBA Made a Career of Protecting Women’s Rights
I am a state senator and I have been in the legislature for 28 years. I am retiring at the end of this year, after spending 22 years in the Senate and six years in the House. I have done almost every job you can do in the Senate, including Senate President. I was only the second woman to have that honor.