Search News

Simmons students, alumnae/i, faculty, and students contribute to so much of the world: from health and wellness, to art, food, culture, and beyond. Here’s a look back at some top stories of the last calendar year.

• Community Engagement

Stephanie Cosner will serve as Provost to lead the vision and strategy for the full range of Simmons’ academic offerings. Russ Pinizzotto will serve as Chief Operating Officer to oversee and coordinate many of the University’s critical daily operations, including in technology, finance, and facilities.

• University Leadership and Structure

A clinical social worker and an Associate Professor of Practice in the Simmons University School of Social Work, Olivia Montgomery offers talks on anti-fat bias and health care in her community. In her virtual testimony, she related an experience visiting a new primary care physician.

• Health & Wellness
• Social Justice & Advocacy

This year marks the 60th anniversary of adult education at Simmons. Renamed Dix Scholars in 1993, this program enables adult undergraduates to pursue their educational and professional goals at any point in their lives. We spoke with Simmons’ staff and Dix alumnae/i about the uniqueness of this program and the students that animate it.

• Adult Student (Dix Scholar)

Over the course of 2023, many stories have been shared on the Simmons website promoting literature of all kinds, directly from professionals in the field. Here is a round-up of some recommendations, to add to your list this winter.

• Community Engagement

In January 2024, Bloomsbury Publishing (London) will release The Bloomsbury Handbook of Hip Hop Pedagogy, co-edited by Daren Graves, Professor of Education and Social Work at Simmons, and Dr. Lauren Leigh Kelly, an Associate Professor of Education at Rutgers University. This collection is “the first reference work to cover the theory, history, research methodologies, and practice of Hip Hop pedagogy.”

• Research

Samantha Sochan '19 shares her journey from bedside nursing to nursing educator.

• Internships & Careers

This fall, Simmons students from the Social Action Leaders course are channeling their academic studies into advocacy. We spoke with students Felipa Canchola ’24, Lisa deRosier ’24, and Rashida Alisa Hagakore ’24 about their passion for experiential service learning and their conception of good leadership.

• Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
• Leadership
• Online Student
• Social Justice & Advocacy

Neurobiologist Eric Luth recently co-authored a peer-reviewed article in the Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health, Part A (October 2021) with several of his students: Celine Breton ’21, Kaitlyn Kessel ’23, Ariel Robinson ’19, and Kainat Altaf ’22. The piece traces developmental abnormalities among worm populations after exposure to environmental contaminants.

• Mentorship
• Research
• Science & Technology

The Trans & Non-Binary Living-Learning Communities (LLC) are for students who identify anywhere within the transgender and non-binary spectrum, as well as active allies. We spoke to students, staff, and Resident Advisors about how the LLC supports trans undergraduate students on campus.

• Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
• LGBTQIA+