Simmons to honor trailblazing journalist with postage stamp unveiling and a ‘Reasons to Write’ postcard writing session with the campus community
Simmons University announced today that it will honor the late journalist Gwen Ifill, one of the institution’s most distinguished alumnae, with a “Gwen Ifill USPS Stamp Celebration: Honor and Action” event on February 4, 2020.
During the event, there will be an unveiling of the new 43rd postage stamp in the Black Heritage Series for the Simmons community, which features the trailblazing journalist. Attendees will also have the opportunity to honor Ifill’s legacy by participating in a “Reasons to Write” session, where they can write messages to friends, mentors, alumnae, civic leaders, and members of the community using the new Gwen Ifill Forever Stamps.
The “Gwen Ifill USPS Stamp Celebration: Honor and Action” event takes place at 2 p.m. on Tuesday, February 4th in the Ifill Wing of the Main College Building at Simmons University.
“It’s an honor to celebrate Gwen Ifill’s achievements and legacy with the unveiling of this new Black Heritage series stamp,” said Dr. Brian Norman, Dean of the Gwen Ifill College of Media, Arts, and Humanities. “Gwen Ifill’s curiosity, integrity and commitment to learning and truth telling exemplifies the very best of Simmons University, and we’re thrilled to bring the community together for this exciting event.”
The celebration event is sponsored by the Gwen Ifill College of Media, Arts, and Humanities; the Simmons Office of Organizational Culture, Inclusion and Equity; and the United States Postal Service.
Simmons opened the Gwen Ifill College of Media, Arts, and Humanities in 2018. Ifill graduated from Simmons in 1977 with a bachelor’s degree in communications, and went on to establish a historic career in the field of journalism – working for The Washington Post, The New York Times, and NBC, among other outlets. She was the first woman and the first African American to moderate a major television news-analysis show, and was part of the first all-female national nightly news anchor team. At the time of her passing in 2016, she served as co-anchor of the “PBS NewsHour” and moderator of the network’s “Washington Week in Review.”