Simmons College

News & Photos from the President

Simmons 100-Year Vision Road Show is off to a great start

December 16, 2011

Photo Caption: Alumna Lisa Craig, President Helen Drinan, and her husband David Drinan at the Road Show kick off event this fall

President Helen Drinan’s 100-Year Vision Road Show is off to a great start after visiting nine cities in three months. With a successful kick-off event at the Boston Public Library in September, the road show introduces the College’s vision for the future to audiences around the country and celebrates our history of innovation and leadership.

“I was proud to showcase Strategy 2015, which is the result of the hard work of the Simmons community,” said Drinan of the Boston event.

In addition to Strategy 2015, President Drinan also presents information about The Making Education Work Campaign, which is more than halfway to the $85 million goal. The largest campaign in Simmons history, Making Education Work will help generate new scholarships for students and help make strategic investments for academic programs.

The 100-Year Vision Road Show with President Drinan has several stops remaining in 2012, including from Palm Beach, Florida and Denver, Colorado.

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Simmons President Helen Drinan joins Sec. of State Hillary Clinton and other top women leaders at 'Women in the Public Service Project'

December 16, 2011

BOSTON (December 15, 2011) – Simmons College President Helen Drinan joins other top U.S. women’s colleges and leaders from around the world for the inaugural colloquium of the Women in the Public Service Project (TWPSP). The Project seeks to identify and educate a new generation of women committed to public service, create an infrastructure of support and mentoring, and help enable more women to enter public service and political leadership.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton delivered the keynote address at the colloquium. Other speakers include Christine Lagarde, managing director of the International Monetary Fund; Dr. Florence Chenoweth, Minister of Agriculture for the Republic of Liberia; Kathleen Sebelius, U.S. Secretary of Health & Human Services; Melanne Verveer, Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women’s Issues; Gloria Steinem, author and activist, and former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright.

The colloquium aims to draw public attention to the importance of increasing participation and leadership roles for women in public service; explore creative solutions to increasing the number of young women who aspire to and are empowered to pursue a career in public service; and build a network of advocates and expertise that will help advance this effort.

Founded in 1899, Simmons College is a nationally ranked university located in the heart of Boston with a history of visionary thinking, and a focus on leadership and social responsibility. It offers undergraduate education for women, and renowned coeducational graduate programs in nursing and health sciences, liberal arts, library and information science, social work, as well as the nation's first MBA program designed specifically for women. Follow Simmons on Twitter @SimmonsCollege and @SimmonsNews.

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Simmons undergraduate math majors inducted into Pi Mu Epsilon

12/8/2011

Photo caption:
Front row: Simmons students Maleena Lee and Marissa Soucy, President Helen Drinan, Simmons students Sarah Vaccaro, Alycia Snell, Katharine McGraves-Lloyd
Back row: Simmons student Ariel Mueller, Professors Donna Beers and David Browder

Undergraduate math students were inducted into Pi Mu Epsilon, the national mathematics honor society, during the 3rd annual induction ceremony Dec.1. Hosted by mathematics professors Donna Beers, David Browder, and David Novak, the ceremony highlighted the achievements of the math majors. Pi Mu Epsilon has chapters at more than 340 colleges and universities throughout the United States, with the purpose of promoting “scholarly activity in mathematics among students in academic institutions.” President Helen Drinan attended the ceremony and spoke highly of the students, noting that their mathematics experience would “encourage someone to consider a math major!”

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Simmons Honors Trustee Emerita Eileen Friars

11/2/2011

Photo caption: David Drinan, President Helen Drinan, Eileen Friars and her husband, Scott Pyle

At a special event last month that included Simmons College trustees, corporators, alumnae/i, senior administrators, and others, the College honored alumna and Trustee Eileen Friars with the designation Trustee Emerita. Friars served on the Simmons College Board of Trustees for 15 years since 1996. The evening included a reception; songs from the Simmons Choir; tributes from Trustees Regina Pisa, Dwight Crane, and Emily Scott Pottruck, and from Associate Dean and Professor Cathie Mercier and College Registrar Donna Dolan. Friars also was surprised with a special video made to recognize her years of service to Simmons.

During a toast for Friars, President Helen Drinan said, “Your contributions have been particularly distinguished in the areas of fundraising, financial leadership, and mentoring. In all that you have done as a trustee, you have consistently put Simmons first. Our recognition of you as Trustee Emerita is an honor you richly deserve, and one we are thrilled to bestow on you.”

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Simmons Celebrates 215th Birthday of Founder

November 2, 2011

Photo caption: A cake with the image of founder John Simmons

Photo caption: The new Class of 2015 flag

Photo caption: Simmons President Helen Drinan, Computer Science Professor Nanette Veilleux, and 2011 John Simmons Essay Contest Winner Marie Ledger

On Monday, Oct. 31, the College celebrated the birthday of founder John Simmons. During this ceremony, Simmons unveiled the new Class of 2015 flag, and recognized first-year student Marie Ledger, who was the winner of the 2011 John Simmons Essay Contest.

To read more about John Simmons, visit the archives website.

 

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Simmons Campaign Video Highlights Alumni Success

October 19, 2011

Making Education Work Campaign from SimmonsCollege on Vimeo.

As part of Simmons’s Making Education Work Campaign, President Drinan is travelling the country this year, visiting 11 states on a cross-country road show. During these trips, President Drinan will be talking about Simmons’s new Strategy 2015, the College’s 100-year vision, and sharing the latest Making Education Work Campaign video, which includes footage and comments from some of our most high profile alumni — including US Archivist David Ferreiro, Entrepreneur Ali Brown, and NBC News Correspondent Rehema Ellis. These alumni talk about the unique attributes of Simmons and how their education has helped them achieve success.

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Multi-Media Event Commemorates Triangle Shirtwaist Fire

October 19, 2011

Photo Caption: A view of the performers in the Linda K. Paresky Center at Simmons College.

Photo Caption: Associate Provost Andrew Effrat and Simmons Trustee and Alumna Andrea Waldstein

In commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire — considered the deadliest industrial tragedy of its time, Simmons College held a special multi-media performance last night entitled "The Cloth From Which We Are Cut." Many members of the Simmons community, including President Helen Drinan, attended this moving event.

Presented by the Yiddish Community Chorus A Besere Velt, and Boston Workmen's Circle, the performance commemorates the death of 146 young, mostly Jewish and Italian immigrant women in New York City in 1911.

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MissionSAFE honors Mayor Tom Menino at Simmons College

October 18, 2011

Photo Caption: Simmons President Helen Drinan, Mayor Tom Menino, and Mission Safe Executive Director Nikki Flionis

President Helen Drinan attended the 10-year anniversary celebration for Mission Safe last night at Simmons College. The event included an appearance by Boston Mayor Thomas Menino, who received an award recognizing his support of the organization.

Based in the Mission Hill area of Boston, Mission Safe works with at-risk youth and young adults offering programs and activities to help them develop personal, life, health, and social skills. The Simmons Scott/Ross Center for Community Service has been a partner with the organization since its inception, offering Simmons students as interns and mentors, and providing space at the college for Mission Safe activities and programs.

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Move In Day

9/4/2011

First-year and transfer students were officially welcomed to the Simmons campus Sept. 4 when they moved in to their dorm rooms. Street Team members (moving assistants), orientation leaders, resident assistants, and student athletes all helped and ensured that the move-in process was well-organized and efficient. In the afternoon, new first year students, transfer students, and their families gathered in the Holmes Sports Center to be officially welcomed to the College.

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Summer Seedlings Program at Simmons Visited by Boston Mayor Tom Menino

8/10/2011

Simmons hosted the Summer Seedlings Program this summer on campus. The innovative, alternative middle school summer school program hosted Boston students where daily activities included math, English, and language arts lessons as well as entrepreneurial and art projects. To conclude the summer program, Boston Mayor Tom Menino visited the campus Aug. 10 and thanked Simmons for hosting the group and its importance to the Boston community and area students.

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President Drinan Welcomes Guests to Campus

5/10/2011

Tony award-winning choreographer George Faison, President Helen Drinan, Provost Charlena Seymour, and Ted Schnugg from the Faison Firehouse Theater in New York City visited Simmons May 4

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President Helen Drinan at C200 Conference 2010

11/16/2010

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President Drinan at Summer Ice Cream Social

6/20/2010

President Drinan poses with the Simmons Shark during the College's "Take a Fun Break" college-wide ice cream social on the Main Campus Quad.

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2010 Annual Service Awards

4/15/2010

Retiring faculty members (from top left) Ann Fleck-Henderson, Ching-Chih Chen, Jill Taylor, Velda Goldberg, Raquel Halty, Barbara Sawtelle, James Baughman, Helen Reinherz, and Robert Oppenheim with President Drinan. Photo by John Gillooly.

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2010 10th Annual Economics Student-Alumnae Networking Dinner

3/25/2010

On March 25, 60 students and more than 50 alumnae gathered for the 10th anniversary of the annual Economics Student-Alumnae Networking Dinner. The goal of the event is to teach networking skills, structure student engagement with the alumnae network, and create lasting mentoring relationships between students and alumnae. Attendees also took time to honor retiring faculty member and Economics Professor Barbara Sawtelle. In this photo: Alumnae join President Helen Drinan (center) and Economics Professor Carole Biewener (right) at the annual Economics Student-Alumnae Networking Dinner

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Women Who Lunch with the Women's Lunch Place of Boston

11/19/2009

Simmons College President Helen Drinan, Simmons College Master's in Communications Management Program Director Joan Abrams, Executive Director of the Women's Lunch Place Sharon Reilly, and Master's in Communications Management Adjunct Professor Kate deLima

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President Drinan with Simmons Alumna Gwen Ifill

1/22/2009

President Helen Drinan posed with Simmons Alumna Gwen Ifill, a member of the class of 1977, along with a group of Simmons students, faculty and staff, at the JFK Library in Boston. Ifill, who is a senior correspondent for PBS's The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer and managing editor of Washington Week, participated in a conversation with New York Times columnist Bob Herbert about her new book, "The Breakthrough: Politics and Race in the Age of Obama" (Doubleday 2008).

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1899 Society Reception

11/12/2008

President Helen Drinan and Simmons students at the 1899 Society reception. The 1899 Society recognizes alumnae/i, parents and friends who support Simmons through cumulative annual gifts of $1,000 or more. Top left to right: Elizabeth A. Kinney '12, Claudia DeJesus '11, Samantha A. Furbush '09, Jessica Kowalski '09, Kenyora L. Johnson '10, Helen G. Drinan '75LS, '78SM, President, and Traci K. Farrell '09

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Other Information

On This Page

• Simmons 100-Year Vision Road Show is off to a great start
• Simmons President Helen Drinan joins Sec. of State Hillary Clinton and other top women leaders at 'Women in the Public Service Project'
• Simmons undergraduate math majors inducted into Pi Mu Epsilon
  December 8, 2011
• President's Open House Reception Honors Donors
  December 4, 2011
• Simmons Honors Trustee Emerita Eileen Friars
  November 2, 2011
• Simmons Celebrates 215th Birthday of Founder
• Simmons Campaign Video Highlights Alumni Success
• Multi-Media Event Commemorates Triangle Shirtwaist Fire
• MissionSAFE honors Mayor Tom Menino at Simmons College
• Convocation 2011
  September 7, 2011
• Move In Day
  September 4, 2011
• Summer Seedlings Program at Simmons Visited by Boston Mayor Tom Menino
  August 10, 2011
• Reunion Weekend 2011
  June 3, 2011
• Commencement 2011
  May 20, 2011
• Honorary Degree Dinner
  May 19, 2011
• President Drinan Welcomes Guests to Campus
  May 10, 2011
• President Drinan and Colleges of the Fenway honored
  December 18, 2010
• President Helen Drinan at C200 Conference 2010
  November 16, 2010
• President Drinan at Summer Ice Cream Social
  June 20, 2010
• Reunion Weekend 2010
  June 4, 2010
• Commencement 2010
  May 14, 2010
• Commencement Recognition Dinner 2010
  May 13, 2010
• 2010 Annual Service Awards
  April 15, 2010
• 2010 10th Annual Economics Student-Alumnae Networking Dinner
  March 25, 2010
• 2010 Scholarship Donors and Recipients Brunch
  March 21, 2010
• Women Who Lunch with the Women's Lunch Place of Boston
  November 19, 2009
• Commencement 2009
• Commencement Recognition Dinner
  May 14, 2009
• Scholarship Donors and Recipients Brunch
  March 31, 2009
• Ribbon-cutting Ceremony of New School of Management and Academic Building for Students, Faculty and Staff
  February 3, 2009
• President Drinan with Simmons Alumna Gwen Ifill
  January 22, 2009
• 1899 Society Reception
  November 12, 2008
• President Drinan Receives Legacy Award
  October 27, 2008
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