Commitment to Inclusivity

Simmons is committed to inclusive excellence in all aspects of an individual’s community experience. We strive to create and sustain an environment that is free from bias, prejudice, and discrimination to enable members to thrive in the Simmons community. We welcome, promote, and seek to empower multiple dimensions of diversity, and are actively working to dismantle systems, policies, and practices that serve as barriers to true inclusion at Simmons. We are One Simmons!

How Can I Get Involved?

President’s Advisory Council on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

Learn more about joining a President’s Advisory Council (PAC) subcommittee by reaching out to:

Gary Bailey
Professor of Practice and Assistant Dean for Community Engagement and Social Justice
Send Professor Bailey an email

Affinity Organizations

Join a Simmons student affinity organization. Learn more about The Collective, eleven student organizations advised by Simmons’ Multicultural Center.

Resources

At Simmons, we believe clear and open communication between students, faculty, and staff is an integral part of creating an inclusive and cohesive community. We encourage you to review the University's Tips for Email Accessibility.

Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Belonging Events

Book Talk on Black Bodies in Visual Culture with Kimberly Juanita Brown

  • Mar 19, 2024
  • 4:00 pm to 6:00 pm
  • Lefavour Hall, Kotzen Room (E-001/E-002)
Celebration following convocation on the academic campus quad.

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Submit your Simmons-affiliated event related to diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging to be included in the Simmons event listings.

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Recent News

A collage of women who have spoken at Simmons

Celebrating Black History Month in an Anniversary Year

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.


Sunei Clarke ’24

Student Researcher Sunei Clarke ’24 Reflects on Simmons Black Oral History Project

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.


Cover of Our Little Black Book 1974

A History of Simmons in a Little Black Book

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.


Bart Brown ’24, Gia Elie ’24, Sunei Clarke ’24, and Sunday Ntoto ’24 of the Black Student Organization host the Cupcake Tabling event at Common Grounds on February 1, 2023

Black Student Organization Honors Black History Month with Food, Festivities, and Intergenerational Community

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.


Ann Marie Fudge '73, '98HD

Ann Marie Fudge ’73, ’98HD Opens Doors for Women in Corporate America

Ann Marie Fudge ’73, ’98HD has enjoyed a fruitful career in the corporate world, having served on the boards of General Electric, Marriott, Honeywell, Novartis, Unilever and Infosys, as well as several non-profits.


Protestors holding signs at an anti-Islam protest in Washington D.C., March 3, 2011

Associate Professor Saher Selod Historicizes Islamophobia in the United States

On January 19, Simmons’ Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (ODEI) hosted “Islamophobia in the United States: Understanding Past and Present Anti-Muslim Discrimination,” a virtual lecture by Associate Professor of Sociology and Director of Research for the Institute of Social Policy and Understanding Saher Selod. This talk chronicled the history of anti-Muslim racism and demonstrated how 9/11 instituted a new era of the racialization of Muslims.


Students seated at tables in the Simmons University Library

Simmons University Library Receives National Award in Recognition of DEI Efforts

The Simmons University Library has received the 2024 Library Excellence in Access and Diversity (LEAD) Award from Insight Into Diversity magazine. The LEAD Award honors academic libraries’ programs and initiatives that encourage and support DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) across their campus.


Felipa Canchola ’24, Lisa deRosier ’24, and Rashida Alisa Hagakore ’24

Simmons Students Support Local Women Experiencing Homelessness

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.


Commitment into Action


President's Advisory Council on DEI

Our charge is to demonstrate inclusive everyday leadership by increasing diversity, equity, and inclusion at Simmons through action, institutional change, education and development, inspiration, and measurement.

Accessibility Services

We are committed to the full participation of all students in our programs and activities and make every effort to provide reasonable accommodations so that students can be ensured equal access.

Multicultural Center

We strive to help students merge the narratives of who they are with their academic and professional commitments. Simmons is committed to building a living and learning environment in which each and every student can thrive intellectually, socially, and emotionally.

Organizational Culture, Inclusion & Equity

We recognize that a robust intellectual community for all requires moving beyond notions of representation and toward authentic engagement, thoughtful participation and inclusive membership.

Spiritual Life

We work to facilitate spiritual development and meet the spiritual needs of students. We coordinate activities to promote development and leadership skills in Simmons students, and we encourage their spiritual development.

Title IX

We recognize the inherent dignity and worth of each member of our community, which includes the right to live, learn and work in an environment free from sexual harassment.