Beverly Byron ’75, is currently the co-chair of the Montgomery County (Maryland) Department of Health and Human Services’ Child Fatality Review Team. She is a longtime nurse educator and legal nurse consultant who double majored in nursing and sociology at Simmons.

• Careers and Internships
• Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

Kenyora Lenair Johnson ’10, CEO of End Rape On Campus (EROC), is dedicated to elevating survivorship and centering marginalized populations. To honor Sexual Assault Awareness Month, we spoke with her about EROC’s bold initiatives, as well as Simmons’ intergenerational community.

• Careers and Internships
• Community Engagement
• Social Justice & Advocacy

Samuel Odom from the School of Social Work and Don Simmons from the School of Library and Information Science, have been named fellows by the North Star Collective Faculty Fellowship, which is designed to promote supportive community and racial healing for BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) faculty members across New England.

• Awards and Honors
• Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

January 21, 2025 — the day after Martin Luther King Jr. Day — is the ninth annual National Day of Racial Healing (NDORH). Created by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, NDORH "is an opportunity to engage in collective action to create a more just and equitable world."

• Community Engagement
• Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
• Social Justice & Advocacy

Africana Studies and Political Science double major Reham Zeroual ’24 discusses her engagement with Student Senate, her favorite courses and professors, as well as her experience as a first-generation college student.

• Community Engagement
• Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
• First-generation Student
• Research
• Senior Profile
• Social Justice & Advocacy

The American Council on Education Women’s Network Massachusetts has recognized Tatiana M.F. Cruz, Assistant Professor and Interdisciplinary Program Director of Africana Studies and Women’s and Gender Studies, and her collaborator Dr. Kamille Gentles-Peart (Roger Williams University) for co-founding and directing the North Star Collective, a group of colleges and universities in New England that are committed to faculty racial equity.

• Awards and Honors
• Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

The annual Senior Scholar Award is sponsored by the Provost's Office and the Office of Research and Fellowships. The award recognizes six graduating seniors for their outstanding scholarship and contribution to a field of study.

• Awards and Honors
• Commencement
• Mentorship
• Research

Public Health major and Chemistry minor Sunei Clarke ’24 participated in the Simmons Black Oral History Project, conducting interviews with alumnae/i to document and memorialize the experiences of Black students at Simmons through the generations. Clarke spoke with us about the process of creating oral histories and the value of Africana Studies for all majors.

• Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
• Research

This spring semester, Professor Yunxin Li is participating in the North Star Collective as a Faculty Fellow. The fellowship offers engagement opportunities for BIPOC faculty members from a variety of New England institutions. Li reflects on how the North Star...

• Awards and Honors

Six seniors across the University have been selected as recipients of the 2023 Senior Scholar Award, in recognition of outstanding scholarship and contribution to a field of study.

• Awards and Honors