Simmons University (previously Simmons College) is a

private university Private universities and private colleges are institutions of higher education, not operated, owned, or institutionally funded by governments. They may (and often do) receive from governments tax breaks, public student loans, and grants. Dep ...

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

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. It was established in 1899 by clothing manufacturer John Simmons. In 2018, it reorganized its structure and changed its name to a university. Its undergraduate program is women-focused while its graduate programs are

co-educational Mixed-sex education, also known as mixed-gender education, co-education, or coeducation (abbreviated to co-ed or coed), is a system of education where males and females are educated together. Whereas single-sex education was more common up to t ...

. Simmons is

accredited Accreditation is the independent, third-party evaluation of a conformity assessment body (such as certification body, inspection body or laboratory) against recognised standards, conveying formal demonstration of its impartiality and competence to ...

by the

New England Commission of Higher Education The New England Commission of Higher Education (NECHE) is a voluntary, peer-based, non-profit membership organization that performs peer evaluation and accreditation of public and private universities and colleges in the United States and other ...

. Admission is considered moderately difficult; , 83percent of applicants to undergraduate programs were accepted. The university is divided into two campuses in the Fenway-Kenmore neighborhood totaling , one of which has five academic buildings and the other of which has nine

Georgian-style Georgian architecture is the name given in most English-speaking countries to the set of architectural styles current between 1714 and 1830. It is named after the first four British monarchs of the House of Hanover—George I, George II, Geor ...

residential buildings. The university enrolls approximately 1,736 undergraduates and 4,527 graduate students. Its athletics teams compete in

NCAA Division III NCAA Division III (D-III) is a division of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States. D-III consists of athletic programs at colleges and universities that choose not to offer athletic scholarships to their st ...

as the Sharks.

History

Simmons was founded in 1899 with a bequest by John Simmons, a wealthy clothing manufacturer in Boston. Simmons founded the college based on the belief that women ought to live independently by offering a

liberal arts Liberal arts education (from Latin "free" and "art or principled practice") is the traditional academic course in Western higher education. ''Liberal arts'' takes the term '' art'' in the sense of a learned skill rather than specifically th ...

education for undergraduate women to integrate into professional work experience. Sarah Louise Arnold was the school's first

dean Dean may refer to: People * Dean (given name) * Dean (surname), a surname of Anglo-Saxon English origin * Dean (South Korean singer), a stage name for singer Kwon Hyuk * Dean Delannoit, a Belgian singer most known by the mononym Dean Titles * ...

; she also served as national president of the Girl Scouts. Simmons is a member of the Colleges of the Fenway consortium, which also includes Emmanuel College,

Wentworth Institute of Technology Wentworth Institute of Technology (WIT) is a private institute of technology in Boston, Massachusetts. Wentworth was founded in 1904 and offers career-focused education through 21 bachelor's degree programs as well as 13 master's degrees. Histo ...

, Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, and

Massachusetts College of Art and Design Massachusetts College of Art and Design, branded as MassArt, is a public college of visual and applied art in Boston, Massachusetts. Founded in 1873, it is one of the nation’s oldest art schools, the only publicly funded independent art school ...

. Simmons absorbed

Garland Junior College Garland Junior College (1872–1976) was a liberal arts women's college in Boston, Massachusetts. Mary Garland established the Garland Kindergarten Training School in 1872 on Chestnut Street in Boston's Beacon Hill. By 1903, the school had expa ...

in 1976. Wheelock College, a former member, merged with Boston University to become the Boston University Wheelock College of Education & Human Development. Simmons graduated its first

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

student in 1914. Furthermore, Simmons was one of the few private colleges not to impose admission quotas on

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

students for the first half of the 1900s. The school's MBA program was the first in the world designed specifically for women. Today, the undergraduate program is women-centered, while the graduate schools are

coed Mixed-sex education, also known as mixed-gender education, co-education, or coeducation (abbreviated to co-ed or coed), is a system of education where males and females are educated together. Whereas single-sex education was more common up to ...

. In 2014, Simmons College teamed up with for-profit online program manager 2U, a deal that would generate hundreds of millions of dollars in revenues for the school. In November 2014, the institution released an explicit policy on the acceptance of

transgender A transgender (often abbreviated as trans) person is someone whose gender identity or gender expression does not correspond with their sex assigned at birth. Many transgender people experience dysphoria, which they seek to alleviate through ...

students, claiming a strong tradition of empowering women and challenging traditional gender roles and a "rich history of inclusion." Its undergraduate program accepts applicants who are assigned female at birth as well as those who self-identify as women, making Simmons the third women-centered college in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

to accept transgender women. Government documentation of gender is not required. Graduate programs are co-educational, so gender identity is not of concern. In 2016, the MBA program went online as MBA@Simmons, and began admitting men. In 2018, Simmons College changed its name to Simmons University after reorganizing the structure of the school. At the onset of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

, Simmons extended its Spring 2020 break to March 23 and then resumed instruction on a remote online-only basis. The campus and residence halls closed. Simmons cancelled all summer instructions and programs. The 2020-2021 academic year featured online instruction for a majority of programs. For the Spring 2021 semester, the residence halls opened at 50% capacity.

Campus

Simmons University is divided into currently two campuses located in the Fenway-Kenmore neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. One campus is home to five academic buildings referred to as the Academic Campus. The other campus, referred to as the Residential Campus, is home to nine residential buildings for undergraduate students. The original site of the Simmons College Graduate School of Social Work is featured on the

Boston Women's Heritage Trail The Boston Women's Heritage Trail is a series of walking tours in Boston, Massachusetts, leading past sites important to Boston women's history. The tours wind through several neighborhoods, including the Back Bay and Beacon Hill, commemorating w ...

. In November 2020, a plan for a single campus was launched by the university called One Simmons. This plan aims to combine the two campuses into a single campus and create a 21 story "Living and Learning Center." This will include 1,100 dorm rooms, classrooms, and athletic facilities. Additionally, the plan outlines renovations to the Main College Building and Lefavour Hall. Lefavour Hall specifically will be outfitted with a new library and a new state of the art science center. Following the completion of these renovations in spring of 2022, the Park Science Center has been closed. It is going to be taken down to build the new Living and Learning Center. The project is scheduled to break ground in Fall 2022 and open in 2025.Simmons University. “One Simmons.” Simmmons University. Simmons University, 2022. https://www.simmons.edu/about/our-future/campus-that-works. Additionally, Simmons University has come to an agreement with the company Skanska. They have partnered with the development firm to do two things. First, Skanska will build the new Living and Learning Center building. In exchange, Simmons University has given Skanska a 99 year lease for the grounds of the residential campus. Skanska will begin commercial development of the former residential campus after the construction of the Living and Learning Center.

Academic Campus

The Academic Campus is located at 300

The Fenway Fenway, commonly referred to as The Fenway, is a mostly one-way, one- to three-lane parkway that runs along the southern and eastern edges of the Back Bay Fens in the Fenway–Kenmore neighborhood of Boston, in the east-central part of the U.S. ...

in the

Longwood Medical Area The Longwood Medical and Academic Area (also known as Longwood Medical Area, LMA, or simply Longwood) is a medical campus in Boston, Massachusetts. Flanking Longwood Avenue, LMA is adjacent to the Fenway–Kenmore, Audubon Circle, and Mission ...

. It is immediately adjacent to the

Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum is an art museum in Boston, Massachusetts, which houses significant examples of European, Asian, and American art. Its collection includes paintings, sculpture, tapestries, and decorative arts. It was found ...

and the Boston Latin School. This campus currently consists of five buildings: * One Palace Road * Main College Building * Beatley Library/Lefavour Hall (recently renovated to also house the science facilities) * Park Science Center (currently inaccessible due to impending demolition) * School of Management Building (a recent green construction)

Residential Campus

The Residence Campus is located one block from the main campus. It is near the Landmark Center and the Fenway and Longwood MBTA stations. The residence campus consists of 13 buildings centered on a grassy quad: * Simmons Hall (Freshman and Sophomore housing) * Dix Hall (Sophomore housing) * Smith Hall (Senior housing, also houses Quadside lounge and mail-room) * Arnold Hall (Junior housing) * North Hall (Upperclassman and Graduate housing) * Health Center and Residence Life Offices * Holmes Sports Center * South Hall (Wellness housing) * Alumnae Hall (Multipurpose room) * Bartol Dining Hall (also houses late-night dining service Bartol Late Night) * Evans Hall (Senior housing) * Mesick Hall (Freshman and Sophomore housing, renovated in 2010) * Morse Hall (Freshman and Sophomore housing) Most of the buildings on the residence campus serve as dormitories, but the campus also includes a large dining hall, a health center, a large fitness center, a public safety office, an auditorium, and several other facilities. The residence campus is separated from the main campus by Emmanuel College and Merck Research Laboratories Boston.

Student body

According to the College Scorecard, the racial and ethnic composition of the undergraduate population is 62 percent white, 11 percent Asian, 8 percent Hispanic, 6 percent black, and 5 percent non-resident alien. Thirty percent of the undergraduate student body is Pell Grant eligible (meant for low-income students).

Sustainability

Simmons has made several significant sustainability efforts. Former President Susan Scrimshaw signed the American College and University Presidents Climate Commitment (ACUPCC) as a formal commitment to eliminate campus greenhouse gas emissions over time. Furthermore, the School of Management is addressing sustainability in its curriculum as well as in building and resource-management programs. Simmons' environmental efforts earned the school a "C" on the ''College Sustainability Report Card 2010'', published in Fall 2009 by the Sustainable Endowments Institute.

Academics

Simmons University reorganized its academic structure in 2018 to foster interdisciplinary learning and cross-departmental collaboration. Students now explore new inter-professional opportunities and create their own pathways to meaningful work. Simmons University is

by the

. * College of Natural, Behavioral, and Health Sciences **School of Nursing * College of Organizational, Computational, and Information Sciences **School of Library and Information Science (SLIS), est. 1902 **School of Business * College of Social Sciences, Policy, and Practice **School of Social Work * The Gwen Ifill College of Media, Arts, and Humanities

Reputation and rankings

Athletics

Simmons University sponsors athletics teams in a variety of sports including crew, cross country, field hockey, lacrosse, soccer, softball, swimming & diving, tennis, and volleyball. The mascot is the Sharks and the colors are blue and yellow. They compete as members of the

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

Division III In sport, the Third Division, also called Division 3, Division Three, or Division III, is often the third-highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Association football *Belgian Thir ...

in the

Great Northeast Athletic Conference The Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division III. History Chronological timeline * 1995 - In 1995, the Great Northeast Athletic ...

(GNAC), the

New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference The New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) is an intercollegiate athletic conference affiliated with the NCAA's Division III. Member institutions are located in the northeastern United States in the states of Connecticut and ...

(NEWMAC) and the

Eastern College Athletic Conference The Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) is a college athletic conference comprising schools that compete in 15 sports (13 men's and 13 women's). It has 220 member institutions in NCAA Divisions I, II, and III, ranging in location fr ...

(ECAC). Simmons athletes won some of the early national intercollegiate women's tennis championships in singles (Marjorie Sachs, 1932) and doubles (Dorrance Chase, 1930 and 1932, with Sachs).

Notable alumni

Simmons alumni include: * Susan Porter Benson (1943–2005), historian *

Julie Berry (author) Julie Berry (born September 3, 1974) is an American author of children's and young adults books and winner of several national book awards. Biography Julie Gardner Berry grew up on a farm in rural Medina, New York as the youngest of seven childre ...

, children's author *

Lenore Blum Lenore Carol Blum (née Epstein, born December 18, 1942) is an American computer scientist and mathematician who has made pioneering contributions to the theories of real number computation, cryptography, and pseudorandom number generation. She ...

(born 1942), computer scientist and mathematician * Kristin Cashore, author *

Margaret Curtis Margaret Curtis (October 8, 1883 – December 24, 1965) was an American golf and tennis champion and lifelong social worker. From the Manchester-by-the-Sea, Massachusetts area, she was the youngest of ten children. Her father was a colonel i ...

(1883-1965), social worker and athlete *

Denise Di Novi Denise Di Novi (born March 21, 1956) is an American film producer and director. Early life The daughter of jazz musician Gene DiNovi, when Di Novi was three years old her family moved to Los Angeles from New York, where her father made music f ...

(born 1956), film producer * Rehema Ellis, NBC News correspondent * Dorothy Celeste Boulding Ferebee (1898–1980), class of 1920, African-American physician and activist * David S. Ferriero (born 1949) 10th Archivist of the United States *

Nnenna Freelon Nnenna Freelon (born July 28, 1954) is an American jazz singer, composer, producer, and arranger. Early life and education Freelon was born Chinyere Nnenna Pierce to Charles and Frances Pierce in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where she was raised. ...

(born 1954), jazz singer * Ann M. Fudge, businesswoman, former CEO of

Young & Rubicam VMLY&R is an American marketing and communications company specializing in advertising, digital and social media, sales promotion, direct marketing and brand identity consulting, formed from the merger of VML, founded in 1992, and Young & Rubica ...

Tipper Gore Mary Elizabeth "Tipper" Gore (née Aitcheson; born August 19, 1948) is an American social issues advocate, activist, photographer and author who was the second lady of the United States from 1993 to 2001. She was married to Al Gore, the 45th vi ...

(born 1947), attended (Garland Junior College), former Second Lady of the United States * Eolyn Klugh Guy, social worker associated with

YWCA The Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA) is a nonprofit organization with a focus on empowerment, leadership, and rights of women, young women, and girls in more than 100 countries. The World office is currently based in Geneva, Swi ...

* Christine Heppermann, author and poet * Theodora Kimball Hubbard, landscape architect, librarian * Marjorie Hulsizer Copher, dietitian who served in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

Gwen Ifill Gwendolyn L. Ifill ( ; September 29, 1955 – November 14, 2016) was an American journalist, television newscaster, and author. In 1999, she became the first African-American woman to host a nationally televised U.S. public affairs program ...

(1955–2016), class of 1977, journalist, television newscaster and author * Louise Andrews Kent (1886–1969), author *

Mackenzi Lee Mackenzi Lee (born Mackenzie Van Engelenhoven) is an American author of books for children and young adults. She writes both fiction and non-fiction about topics including sexuality and the role of women throughout history. Life and career Lee ...

, author * Gail Levin, class of 1969, art historian * Elinor Lipman (born 1950), novelist *

Bertha Mahony Bertha Mahony (1882–1969), also known as Bertha Mahony Miller, is considered a figurehead of the children's literature movement. She created one of the first children's bookstores in Boston, Massachusetts. Mahony was also the founder of the ''Ho ...

(1882–1969), founder of ''

The Horn Book Magazine ''The Horn Book Magazine'', founded in Boston in 1924, is the oldest bimonthly magazine dedicated to reviewing children's literature. It began as a "suggestive purchase list" prepared by Bertha Mahony Miller and Elinor Whitney Field, proprietres ...

'' * Barbara Margolis (1929–2009),

prisoners' rights The rights of civilian and military prisoners are governed by both national and international law. International conventions include the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights; the United Nations' Minimum Rules for the Treatment ...

advocate who served as the official greeter of

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

. * Hannah M. McCarthy, college administrator and businessperson * Jeffrey Mello, Episcopal priest ( Bishop of Connecticut) * Eleanor Milleville (1922–1991), American sculptor * Catherine N. Norton (1941–2014), American librarian *

Sondra Perl Sondra Perl is a Professor Emerita of English at Lehman College and director of the Ph.D. in Composition and Rhetoric at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York. She is the founder and former director of the New York City Writing ...

, Professor Emerita of

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

at Lehman College and director of the Ph.D. in Composition and Rhetoric at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York. * Bertha Reynolds, American social worker *

Srinagarindra Princess Srinagarindra ( th, ศรีนครินทรา; ; 21 October 1900 – 18 July 1995) née Sangwan Talapat ( th, สังวาลย์ ตะละภัฏ; ) was a member of the Royal Thai Family and the House of Mahidol, whi ...

(1900–1995), Princess Mother of

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...

* Mabel Leilani Smyth, Director of the Public Nursing Service for the Territory of Hawaii * Valerie Thomas, scientist and inventor * Susan Traverso (1983), President of

Thiel College Thiel College (, ) is a private college in Greenville, Pennsylvania. It is affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and is one of the smallest colleges or universities in the region with about 100 full-time and part time faculty ...

, former Provost of

Elizabethtown College Elizabethtown College (informally E-town) is a private college in Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania. History Founding and early years Founded in 1899, Elizabethtown College is one of many higher learning institutions founded in the 19th century by ...

Suzyn Waldman Suzyn Waldman (born ) is an American sportscaster and former musical theater actress. Since the 2005 season, she has been the color commentator for New York Yankees baseball, working with John Sterling on radio broadcasts, first for WCBS-AM a ...

color commentator A color commentator or expert commentator is a sports commentator who assists the main ( play-by-play) commentator, typically by filling in when play is not in progress. The phrase "colour commentator" is primarily used in Canadian English and ...

for the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one of ...

* Allyson Schwartz, class of 1970, U.S. Representative Pennsylvania's 13th congressional district 2004– * Anne Williams Wheaton, class of 1912, publicist and first White House Associate Press Secretary * Esther M. Wilkins (1916–2016), class of 1938, pioneer in the field of dental hygiene, teacher, and author of ''Clinical Practice of the Dental Hygienist'' *

Mary Elizabeth Wood Mary Elizabeth Wood (August 22, 1861 – May 1, 1931) was an American librarian and missionary, best known for her work in promoting Western librarianship practices and programs in China. She is credited with the foundation of the first library sc ...

, 1861–1931, librarian and lay missionary who actively promoted Chinese early education and librarianship *

Alex Wright Alexander Wright (born May 17, 1975) is a German former professional wrestler and professional wrestling promoter. He wrestled professionally in Germany and Japan before signing with World Championship Wrestling (WCW) in 1994. He remained a pro ...

, American writer and

information architect Information architecture (IA) is the structural design of shared information environments; the art and science of organizing and labelling websites, intranets, online communities and software to support usability and findability; and an emerging ...

* Aline A. Yamashita, Guamanian educator and politician. *Jill Zarin, Philanthropist and Business Women. Former Cast Member of the Bravo reality show The Real House Wives of New York City.

Notable faculty

* William M. Bellamy, former U.S. ambassador to

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from 2003 to 2006 * Harry C. Bentley, founder and namesake of Bentley College served as professor of accounting. * Nancy Bond, winner of a

Newbery Honor Newbery is a surname. People * Chantelle Newbery (born 1977), Australian Olympic diver * David Newbery (born 1943), British economist *Eduardo Newbery (1878–1908), Argentine odontologist and aerostat pilot * Francis Newbery (disambiguation), s ...

, taught at the Simmons College Center for the Study of Children's Literature from 1979 to 2001. * Dana Chandler, artist and activist. * Alicia Craig Faxon, art historian. *

Emily Hale Emily Hale (27 October 1891 – 12 October 1969) was an American speech and drama teacher, who was the longtime muse and confidante of the poet T. S. Eliot. Exactly 1,131 letters from Eliot to Hale were deposited in Princeton University Libra ...

, speech and drama teacher, and muse of T.S. Eliot *

Gregory Maguire Gregory Maguire (born June 9, 1954) is an American novelist. He is the author of '' Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West'', '' Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister'', and several dozen other novels for adults and children. Many ...

, author, professor and co-director at the Simmons College Center for the Study of Children's Literature from 1979–1985. * Isadore Gilbert Mudge, librarian, part-time lecturer *

Mary Schenck Woolman Mary Raphael Schenck Woolman (April 26, 1860August 1, 1940) was an American educator known for her advocacy of vocational education and consumer education, particularly for women. She was one of the first woman faculty members at Teachers Colleg ...

, pioneer in vocational education

References

External links

* {{Coord, 42.339800, -71.100200, region:US-MA_type:edu, display=title Women's universities and colleges in the United States Universities and colleges in Boston Educational institutions established in 1899 1899 establishments in Massachusetts Liberal arts colleges in Massachusetts Private universities and colleges in Massachusetts