President Simmons joined Prairie View in 2017 after retiring as President of Brown University where she served as President from 2001 to 2012. She had previously served as President of Smith College from 1995 to 2001. Born in Grapeland, Texas, she grew up in Houston’s Fifth Ward where she graduated from Phyllis Wheatley High School. She holds both a Master of Arts and Ph.D. degree in Romance Languages and Literatures from Harvard University. Simmons chairs the Board of Directors of the Holdsworth Center for Excellence in Education Leadership.

“When I learned of Mr. Butt’s gift, I was overwhelmed,” said President Simmons. “His generosity to the children of the State of Texas and his concern for the quality of education afforded Prairie View students is inspiring to us all. Our students can learn a good deal from his humanity and the manner in which he lives and practices his values.”

The funds will be used to support The Ruth J. Simmons Center for Race and Justice at the University. This Center will be proposed for approval to the Texas A&M Chancellor and Board of Regents and the Coordinating Board with the following proposed mission:

The Center positions itself as a multidisciplinary effort, drawing from an array of existing programs that can, together, facilitate greater understanding of racism and discrimination on the one hand and the need for justice on the other hand to strength enand sustain civil society. Thecenter’sactivitieswillinclude:

 encouraging curricular innovation that helps students better understand how racial and other biases can impact their beliefs, affect their choices and shape their opportunities in life;

 educational programs for the public on how to combat bias in their communities;

 expert support for government and organizations seeking to understand how they can improve upon their efforts to assure a bias free, inclusive environment;

 training for individuals in leadership positions who wish to improve upon their leadership for inclusion; and

 support for scholarship and research that adds to knowledge about new areas of injustice that are in need of urgent attention from policy makers and others (such as human trafficking).