The Gwen Ifill School of Media, Humanities and Social Sciences
The Gwen Ifill School of Media, Humanities and Social Sciences cultivates trailblazers and leaders. Here, you'll study the modes of expression through which we record and interpret the human experience.
“We can't expect the world to get better by itself.”— Gwen Ifill
Our students view society through the multi-faceted lenses of language, narrative, art, music, film and contemporary media. You'll hone your creative abilities through real-world projects and on-the-job learning experiences.
As a pioneering Black woman journalist, Gwen Ifill '77 '93HD broke through barriers of prejudice and stands as a model of professional excellence and a purposeful life. The Ifill School aims to carry on that legacy for the next generations. Our mission:
- We are a community of educators and learners guided by intellectual curiosity, critical thinking, and generosity of spirit.
- We derive strength from our differences and pursue civic engagement through humanistic inquiry that values language, lived experience, artistic expression, and imagination.
- We give voice to our stories, past and present, individual and global, told and untold, to influence a future whose questions have yet to be asked.
How will you do the hard work of imagining a more just future?
Our Faculty
You’ll study with faculty who are thought-leaders and award winners, researchers and professionals in their fields.
About the School
Meet Gwen Ifill
Best known as a successful and much admired television news anchor, Gwen Ifill launched her career here at Simmons.
Ifill Forum
The Ifill Forum is our annual signature event in honor of Gwen Ifill and her legacy as a ground-breaking Black woman journalist. We invite alumnae, community members, students, faculty, staff, and friends of Gwen Ifill to experience an event where important national voices come together for a conversation of a pressing issue. The Ifill Forum seeks to ask the questions that Gwen herself would be asking of our world today.
Mentoring
Among Gwen Ifill’s legacies is a commitment to mentoring and to nurturing a diverse and talented next generation.
Student Opportunities
We cultivate a diverse and talented generation of trailblazers who are poised to become leaders in their professions and in their communities.
Current Faculty Resources
Information for our current faculty, including funding opportunities.
The Gwen Ifill School in the News
Two Simmons Faculty Members Receive North Star Fellowships
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.
Honoring the National Day of Racial Healing
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."
Simmons Linked to 2024 Boston Globe–Horn Book Awards
The 2024 Boston Globe–Horn Book Awards Ceremony was held on November 24 at the Boston Public Library, where Cathryn Mercier, Professor and Graduate Program Director of Children's Literature, reflected on her role as a judge.
2024 Simmons Faculty Awards Celebrates Stellar Researchers and Educators
Simmons faculty from various disciplines received awards in undergraduate and graduate teaching, research, service, and a commitment to DEI at the 2024 Faculty Awards.
Simmons Faculty Reflect on the Upcoming Presidential Election
Faculty from the Department of Politics and Policy at Simmons recently presented a virtual panel discussion on the upcoming presidential election.
Award-Winning Illustrator Roger Mello Visits Simmons
Brazilian illustrator Roger Mello visited the Simmons campus for a presentation in Professor Cathryn Mercier’s Picturebook class.
Simmons Hosts “A Conversation of Remembrance” to Honor Gwen Ifill ’77, ’93HD
The Gwen Ifill School of Media, Humanities, and Social Sciences and the Simmons Alumnae/i Association honored the legacy of trailblazing news anchor and journalist Gwen Ifill ’77 ’93HD. Ifill’s brother Dr. Roberto Ifill and her college classmates joined Simmons faculty, current Simmons students, Ifill School Dean Ammina Kothari, and President Lynn Perry Wooten to commemorate this extraordinary alumna.
Dr. Ammina Kothari Selected as Dean of the Gwen Ifill School of Media, Humanities, and Social Sciences
As dean, Dr. Kothari will play a pivotal role in the leadership of the Ifill School, a vital part of Simmons' forward-looking academic structure that is designed to accelerate student pathways and growth in meaningful careers.
Upcoming Events
Ifill Forum 2025 Panel Discussion: Women's Health is Public Health
- Mar 13, 2025
- 1:00 pm to 2:30 pm
- C-520/C-521 and Virtual
Ifill Forum 2025: "Grown Woman’s Talk: Taking Ownership of One’s Healthcare"
- Mar 13, 2025
- 3:00 pm to 5:30 pm
- Linda K. Paresky Conference Center and Virtual
Contact Us
The Gwen Ifill School of Media, Humanities and Social Sciences
The Gwen Ifill School of Media, Humanities and Social Sciences cultivates trailblazers and leaders. Here, you'll study the modes of expression through which we record and interpret the human experience.