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An early proponent of reproductive rights and a courageous advocate of racial, socioeconomic, and gender equity decades before the Civil Rights and Women’s Movements, Dr. Dorothy Celeste Boulding Ferebee, Class of 1920, was a visionary leader ahead of her time.

• 125th Anniversary
• Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
• Leadership
• Social Justice & Advocacy

The Dotson Bridge and Mentoring Program pairs first-generation and other underrepresented nursing student mentees — called Scholars — with experienced Mentors (typically School of Nursing alumnae/i). Sasha DuBois ’08BSN has served as a mentor since the program began in 2009. LaDonna Christian ’16PhD became director of the program in 2010.

• Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
• Mentorship

Assistant Professor of Humanities Patrick Sylvain is a literary scholar and poet whose intellectual curiosity knows no bounds. His work explores the issues of nationhood, leadership, race, and (de)colonization. In conjunction with Black History Month 2025, we spoke with him about Haitian politics, poetry, and zombies.

• Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

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.

• Awards and Honors
• Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

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."

• Community Engagement
• Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
• Social Justice & Advocacy

In honor of LGBTQIA+ History Month, we welcome the LGBTQIA+ community at Simmons to gather in their new lounge, located in the Jennifer Eckert Center for Leadership & Engagement.

• Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
• Facilities
• LGBTQIA+

Since 1988, the United States has celebrated National Coming Out Day (NCOD) annually on October 11. To honor NCOD, Dr. Michael LaSala, Dean of Simmons’ School of Social Work, recounts his own coming-out journey.

• Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

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.

• Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
• Research
• Social Justice & Advocacy

The Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion hosted a webinar with Project Shema, entitled “Understanding Antisemitism in the Current Political Climate.” The webinar defined antisemitism, contextualized Jewish identity, and suggested how participants may empathize with the Jewish community.

• Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

Bridgett Johnson-Pride '18MAMS was named Director of Public Services for Archives and Special Collections at Harvard University in October, 2023. We caught up with Johnson-Pride about her current role, and how she engages with patrons as an extroverted archivist.

• Careers and Internships
• Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
• Leadership