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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

Established in 2017, the National Society of Black Women in Medicine is committed to increasing the recruitment and retention of Black women pursuing careers in the medical field. This academic year, Neurobiology major Debora Edouard ’24 and Biochemistry and Public Health minor Kadijah McClean ’24 co-founded the Simmons chapter of the Society.

• Community Engagement
• Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
• Science & Technology

In celebration of International Transgender Day of Visibility, we interviewed Dane Groves ’04, ’09, ’20MS about his roles as student, staff, and faculty, and his experience undergoing a gender transition while working at Simmons.

• Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
• Internships & Careers
• LGBTQIA+

Since joining the Simmons University Alumnae/i Association Executive Board (AAEB), Kelly O’Connell ’99 has helped launch the Simmons Tuesday Tea Podcast, and co-hosted the Byond Balance event last November. On April 2, AAEB is hosting a special Simmons campus screening of “Show Her The Money,” a documentary that delves into the gender gap in venture capital funding with a focus on empowering women entrepreneurs.

• 125th Anniversary
• Community Engagement
• Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
• Leadership

“As an Indigenous woman, it is hard for me to not take personally the challenging and banning of books by Indigenous authors and about the Indigenous experience,” says Anna Kelly ’23MS an enrolled member of the St. Regis Mohawk Tribe.

• Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
• Social Justice & Advocacy

On February 29, the Dotson Bridge and Mentoring Program, directed by Associate Professor of Practice LaDonna Christian, hosted a Lectureship Event with Dr. Ena Williams. Her lecture, entitled, “Experiences of Racial and Ethnic Minority Nurses: Our Role in Advancing Workforce Diversity,” identified workplace biases and underscored the need for mentorship, racial equity, and organizational change.

• Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
• Leadership
• Mentorship

This Black History Month also happens to be Simmons University’s 125th anniversary year. President Wooten reflects upon the many women associated with Simmons – past and present – who have not only influenced our immediate community, but whose work and contributions had and continue to have far-reaching impacts for our world.

• Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
• From the President

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

The Little Black Book (or, Our Little Black Book), a yearbook for Black students, was first published in 1974 to capture the service, time, and growth of the Black experience at Simmons. Originally Lynne White’s 1974 senior project in Communications, the Book provides a chronicle of Simmons College’s Black community.

• Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

Throughout Black History Month, all students are welcome to express their solidarity with Simmons’ Black community over cupcakes, soul food, music, and dancing. We spoke with BSO’s Soul President Gia Elie ’24, Soul Vice President Sunei Clarke ’24, and Soul of Communications Bartianna Brown ’24 about their passion for Black history and co-curating events that celebrate their culture.

• Community Engagement
• Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
• First-generation Student
• Mentorship