Year in Review: The Ifill College (AY2019-2020)

THE YEAR IN REVIEW ACADE MIC YEAR 20 1 9 – 2 0 2 0

In the second year of the Gwen Ifill College of Media, Arts, and Humanities, we focused on letting our mission take root.

New faculty leadership positions oversaw mentoring, interdisciplinary inquiry, public engagement, student-driven media, and an elevated role for the Trustman Art Gallery and University art collection to reach new audiences across Simmons and Boston.

We continued to honor our namesake, Gwen Ifill, and her legacy of excellence and asking hard questions. Our first annual Gwen Ifill Forum brought a standing-room-only crowd for a public conversation on “Race, Media, and Democracy” with some of the most important voices in politics and journalism today. In February, another packed crowd celebrated the new USPS Gwen Ifill Stamp, including fellow ’77 classmates and members of her honorary sorority, Delta Sigma Theta. We also named three more Ifill Scholars to support the next generation of trailblazers and we established the Gwen Ifill College Dean’s Advisory Council, with many who counted Gwen herself as coworker, mentor, family, and friend.

A NOTE FROM THE DEAN

Our strategic theme was adaptation: How can the media, arts, and humanities meet the changing needs of our students and challenges of the 21st century? That proved prescient when Simmons, like most of higher education, moved rapidly to respond to the COVID-19 global health pandemic. As faculty and students valiantly shifted teaching and learning online, we continued our mission in a digital world with truly remarkable student-reporting, a talentfilled digital student art exhibition, and an impressive online archival exhibition of the immigrant history of Boston’s West End neighborhood in partnership with the Boston City Archives and West End Museum.

Like COVID-19, the nationwide protests and demonstrations against anti-Black violence pushed all institutions to return to their missions and core values with care and bravery. I am proud of the resulting faculty statement in solidarity with racial justice, “Our Commitments.” I am also proud of the successful faculty recommendation to establish an expanded Department of Critical Race, Gender, and Cultural Studies to bring together programs and faculty who study intersecting identity and systems of injustice so that we can best equip a next generation to create a more just world.

As always, I go back to our namesake, Gwen Ifill, who said in a 2013 commencement address, “You have to decide what you care about, and then be prepared to act.”

Brian Norman Dean, The Gwen Ifill College of Media, Arts, and Humanities Simmons University

GWEN IFILL COLLEGE MISSION AS A PIONEERING BLACK WOMAN JOURNALIST, Gwen Ifill broke through barriers of prejudice and stands as a model of professional excellence and a purposeful life.

THE GWEN IFILL COLLEGE OF MEDIA, ARTS, AND HUMANITIES 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 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, too, do the hard work of imagining a more just future?

DEAN’S ADVISORY COUNCIL OF THE GWEN IFILL COLLEGE Chantel S. Adams ‘09 Yamiche Alcindor Nancy Ancrum Rick Berke Cynthia A. Carter ‘78

Desiree Hicks Roberto Ifill Sherrilyn Ifill Kimberly A. Jackson- LeBeau ‘97

Maria Karagianis ‘70 Athelia Knight Kevin Merida J. Keith Motley Michele Norris

Ann E. Petruccelli ‘01 Judith Turner Phair King ‘68 Christian PopeCampbell ‘91

Julieanna Richardson Barbara Semedo ‘73 Samaria A. Stallings ‘96 Kate Taylor Maya I. Valentine ‘19

MISSION STATEMENT

•

GWEN IFILL COLLEGE MISSION

We derive strength from our differences and pursue civic engagement through humanistic inquiry that values language, lived experience, artistic expression, and imagination.

84

140

Tenured: 33 Tenure-track: 4 Contract: 17 Adjunct: 30

Graduate: 50

Faculty

GWEN IFILL COLLEGE BY THE NUMBERS

(including joint with other colleges: 6)

6

Professional Administrative Support Staff

42

Student Workers General: 9 Digital Media: 13 Gallery: 14 Dean’s Fellows: 6 The statistics and information included in this booklet were collected and compiled prior to June 19, 2020.

Ifill Degrees Granted

dual programs: 18

Undergraduate Majors: 90

multiple majors: 11

457

UNDERGRADUATE OFFERINGS

Undergraduate Program PLAN Courses: 40

all areas offered as a BA and minor, unless otherwise noted

Honors Courses: 7 Advisees: 791

(BOS, LDR, LC, SIM)

Africana Studies Art GRADUATE Arts Administration OFFERINGS Cinema & Media Studies Children’s Literature (minor only) Children’s Literature (MA) Communication (BA only) Writing for Children (MFA) concentrations in:

dual with: Graphic Design Library and Information Journalism Science (MA/MS) Graduate: 166 Media Arts dual programs: 105 Writing for Children East Asian Studies (MA/MFA) Undergraduate Majors: 291 English multiple majors: 44 French & Francophone Gender/Cultural Studies undergraduate minors: 199 Gender/Cultural Studies Studies (MA) Gender History (minor only) dual with: Health Humanities Public Policy (MA/MPP)

(COF minor) History History Credit Hours Migration Studies (COF minor) History (MA) Graduate: 2,355 Music dual with: Undergraduate: 11,630 Performing Arts (COF minor) Library and Information Philosophy Science with Concentration in Photography (minor only) Archives Management Public Relations (MA/MS) & Marketing Alumnx Communications

(joint BA) Graduate: 3,536 Radio (minor only) Undergraduate: 8,949 Spanish Web Design & Development (joint BS) Women’s & Gender Studies

Students

13,985

12,485

IFILL FACULTY FELLOWS IN MENTORING

MENTORS-IN-RESIDENCE A signature program that invites to campus talented professionals who are achieving success in their fields and expanding the range of voices and perspectives in them. Mentors share their knowledge and help us foster the potential of our students so that they, too, may pursue lives of purpose.

• Carmen Báez, founder & CEO of PRxPR and former President, DAS Latin America for Omnicom Group, hosted by Communications • Tricia Sitemere, career consultant and fulfillment coach, hosted by Africana Studies

ACADEMIC INTERNSHIP COORDINATORS The Academic Internship Coordinators work with the Career Education Center to help students find creditbearing internships across the many disciplines in the Ifill College. Assistant Professor Lydia Fash is the coordinator for Africana Studies, English, History, Modern Languages, Philosophy, and Women’s & Gender Studies. Associate Professor Heather Hole is the coordinator for Art & Music and Arts Administration. Associate Professor of Practice Andrew Porter is the coordinator for Communications.

POOLE AWARD The Alden Poole Faculty Mentor Award is presented to a faculty member in the Ifill College who has provided exceptional mentorship of students during their time at Simmons and in their future careers. The award is named in honor of Professor Alden Poole (Communications, 1955-1986), a formative mentor in the life of Gwen Ifill ’77, ‘93HD. Award selection is based on alumnx nomination. The 2019 Poole Award Recipient was Erica Moura, Assistant Professor of Practice, Radio Station Director, and Faculty Fellow in Student-Driven Media.

COMMUNITY & MENTORING

Janie Ward and Andy Porter took on the roles of Faculty Fellows in Mentoring. Professor Ward has long chaired both Africana Studies and Education while developing a reputation as a committed mentor, especially among students of color.

Further, her current scholarship includes a project on black women and mentoring. Professor Porter has built an impressive record helping Communications students gain valuable experience in the professional world through Studio 5, academic internships, and field experiences. Together, they expanded their work across the College as they led efforts to carry on the legacy of Gwen Ifill’s commitment to fostering a diverse and talented next generation.

• Alex Kittle, illustrator and art historian, hosted by Art & Music and English

INTERNSHIPS & MENTORSHIPS

GWEN IFILL USPS STAMP CELEBRATION

Internships help students prepare for post-Simmons success. This year, 85 students participated in internship or mentorship courses that helped connect workplace learning and academic coursework, with the time and community to reflect on their futures as professionals.

Simmons University celebrated the release of the 43rd stamp in the Black Heritage Series, featuring pioneering journalist Gwen Ifill. Classmates, sorority sisters, and colleagues of Ms. Ifill arrived from across the region to help the USPS unveil the stamp. After the ceremony, Ifill College hosted a “Reasons to Write” session, where postcards and Gwen Ifill Forever Stamps were provided for all to write to alumnx, civic leaders, and members of the community.

Placements

COMMUNITY & MENTORING

• 360 Public Relations • Barefoot Books

• Irish International Immigration Center

• Bond Brothers

• Julia Ottaviani Design

• Boston APP Lab

• Kneerim & Williams

• Boston Ballet

• Maxwell Health

• Boston Children’s Hospital

• MFA Boston Art of Europe

• Brigham and Women’s Hospital

• Nickelodeon

• BU Athletics

• Prospect Hill Academy

• Cambridge Systematics

• Rafanelli Events

• Candlewick Press

• Spartan Drum and Bugle Corps

• Celebrity Series of Boston

• Project BFF

• De Gruyter

• The Guild of Boston Artists

• Doc Wayne

• The Welcome Project

• GrubStreet

• Unbound Visual Arts

• Harvard Medical School

• WERS Radio Station

• Harvard T.H. Chan School

• WGBH

• International Institute of NE

• Youth Services

Classmates of Gwen Ifill pictured at the Ifill Stamp Celebration on Tuesday, February 4, 2020. Clockwise from top left: Candace Bows, Nadine Cruz, Vivian Izuchi, Vernessa Randall, and Ramona Johnson.

TRUSTMAN GALLERY

Laura Prieto, Professor, History and Women’s and Gender Studies, finished the first year of her three-year term (2019-2022). Supported through generous funding from Simmons alumnx, this 3-year position affords tenured Ifill College faculty the opportunity to pursue civic or public engagement projects that demonstrate the important role of the arts, media, and humanities in a vibrant, diverse democracy.

The Trustman Art Gallery is a professional art gallery that participates in the Boston art scene by featuring the work of artists in Boston and beyond. This year, under the direction of Interim Director Helen Popinchalk, exhibits included:

GRANT: HUMANITIES RESEARCH FOR THE PUBLIC GOOD Thanks to a grant from the Council of Independent Colleges, Professor Prieto, History, collaborated with University Archives, Simmons Community Engagement, and the Boston City Archives to support student research on the immigrant history of Boston’s West End.

• Grace Lin: 20 Years of the Art of Grace Lin

• Cicely Carew: What They See

• Greg Lamarche: All Good Things

• Mary Lewey: Imagining the Unknown in the Trustman Project Space

• Mia Cross: The Painted Place • Rocky Cotard: Don’t Call Me Sugar in the Trustman Project Space • Student exhibition: Featuring artwork from all students studying drawing, painting, photography and printmaking in Fall ’19.

• Melanie Bernier: The Gardener & The Gardened • Soyoung L. Kim: BRIDGE in the Trustman Project Space

The Trustman Gallery Advisory Council consists of two students, two faculty members, and two community members. The 2019-2020 Council includes: • Devin Guild ‘20

• Lowry Pei, English

• Kaylin Wu ‘20

• Artist Cicely Carew

• Heather Hole, Art and Music

• Artist Pat Falco

HIGHLIGHTS FRO PM U BDLEI C P AERNTGMAEGNETMLEIN FT E

ALUMNI CHAIR IN PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT

PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT

THE IFILL FORUM: RACE, MEDIA, AND DEMOCRACY

HIGHLIGHTS FROM DEPARTMENT LIFE

Simmons hosted the inaugural Ifill Forum on October 19, 2019. Approximately 300 alumnx, community members, students, faculty, staff, and friends of Gwen Ifill attended the Forum to experience what Dean Brian Norman described as an event that invited “important national voices 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.” The event panel included Yamiche Alcindor, White House Correspondent, PBS NewsHour; Asma Khalid, Political Correspondent, NPR; Maya Valentine ‘19, Press Assistant, U.S. House of Representatives; and Judy Woodruff, Anchor and Managing Editor, PBS NewsHour. Ifill College Professor of Practice Rachel Gans-Boriskin moderated the discussion.

Professor Stephen Berry, History, and Assistant Professor Lydia Fash, English, led “On the High Seas,” a course that wedded literature and history about piracy.

Topics included buccaneers from the Golden Age of Piracy (1650-1720), the popular film Pirates of the Caribbean, the Atlantic slave trade (which was legally denominated piracy in 1808), oceanic exploitation (particularly through whaling), and contemporary piracy and shipping. The course’s final project was a three-mile walking tour of Boston charted on the PocketSights app that takes people “back in time to when Bostonians were intimately connected to the ocean, reliant on it for trade and for news.”

From left: Judy Woodruff, Dean Brian Norman and Yamiche Alcindor at the Ifill Forum, while moderator Rachel Gans-Boriskin looks on.

“On the High Seas”: The Boston Pirate Trail

New Minor: Health Humanities Associate Professor Shirong Luo, Philosophy, coordinated the launch of a new minor in Health Humanities, offered by Simmons and the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Science (MCPHS). The minor focuses on ethical leadership practice, sensitivity to cultural impacts on health and wellness, and communication skills, helping future practitioners bridge the gap between patients and providers.

Ifill Seminar: Public Feminisms, Online Activism, and Social Change CommWorks cover art by Juliana Gamba ‘20

CommWorks The Communications Department hosts CommWorks, an annual celebration that showcases student work across the department and serves as an exhibit of the portfolios of graduating seniors—graphic design, videos, writing, multimedia storytelling, web sites, app design, animation, digital images, and more. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the department hosted this year’s event online.

New Language Offered: American Sign Language As of Fall 2019, the Modern Languages and Literatures Department started to offer first-year American Sign Language courses: ASL 101 and ASL 102. In these courses, students develop their receptive and expressive ASL skills, fingerspelling, vocabulary building, and grammatical structure. In addition to language acquisition, ASL 102 introduces an examination of deaf culture.

During the spring semester, Professor Suzanne Leonard, English, taught the first section of the Gwen Ifill Seminar. Students studied the proliferation of online feminist activism in the form of blogs, online journalism, hashtags, and social media campaigns. The course investigated what forms these interventions have taken, and how they have influenced public conversations, in addition to coaching students to produce a work of effective online activism (public-facing blog, op-ed, or comment piece) that could be submitted for wider dissemination.

Make Way: The Summer Children’s Literature Institute The Summer Children’s Literature Institute is a four-day symposium featuring authors, illustrators, editors, and publishers.

This year’s Summer Institute included a lecture by author and illustrator Oge Mora on her first book, Thank You, Omu!, as well as an exhibit in the Trustman Gallery of Grace Lin’s artwork. Lin is the only person in children’s literature to have been recognized by the Newbery, Caldecott, Geisel, and National Book Award committees (with at least one “honor book” in each category).

FACULT Y ACHIEVEMENT AND COLL ABORATION

FACULTY & STAFF ACHIEVEMENT

• Denise Horn, Women’s and Gender Studies, 5 years

The faculty and staff of the Gwen Ifill College are also active scholars, artists, and citizens. This year witnessed many accomplishments across the College.

• Sheldon George, English, 15 years

Promotions

• Andy Porter, Communications, 15 years

• Eduardo Febles, Professor, Modern Languages and Literatures

• Edie Bresler, Art and Music, 20 years

New Faculty and Staff

• Wanda Torres Gregory, Philosophy, 25 years

• Kristina Markos, Communications • Jennifer Sunoo, Operations Specialist

• Diane Grossman, Philosophy, Women’s and Gender Studies, 35 years

• Michael Zachary, Art and Music

• Cathryn Mercier, Children’s Literature, 35 years

Retirements

INTERDISCIPLINARY COLLABORATION

• Pamela Bromberg, English • Zhigang Liu, History/Modern Languages and Literatures • Marcia Lomedico, Art and Music/Trustman Gallery • Lowry Pei, English • Theresa Perry, Africana Studies/Education Sabbaticals • Sheldon George, English • Ellen Grabiner, Communications • Steve Ortega, History • Wanda Torres-Gregory, Philosophy Milestones • Max Ehrsam, Modern Languages and Literatures, 5 years • Daniela Fagnani, Modern Languages and Literatures, 5 years • Rachel Gans-Boriskin, Communications, 5 years

• Colleen Kiely, Art and Music, 15 years • Theresa Perry, Africana Studies, 15 years, retiring

• Ellen Grabiner, Communications, 20 years

• Interim Associate Dean Denise Horn coordinated interdisciplinary projects for the College, including the Faculty Growth Fund, which supports faculty from different departments, fields, disciplines, and colleges to explore and create new ideas for courses or undertake special projects that will promote pedagogical, creative, and scholarly growth.

• Suzanne Leonard, English and Briana Martino, Communications: “Ifill Roundtable on Teaching at the Northeast Popular and American Culture Association Conference” • Lydia Fash, English and Steve Berry, History: “Alumnx Mentors and Informational Interviews for HUM 370” • Cathryn Mercier, Children’s Literature and Suzanne Leonard, English: “History, Culture & Audience in Graphic Narratives: A Conversation with Hillary Chute”

FACULTY SOLO EXHIBITIONS & EXTERNAL GRANTS • Colleen Kiely’s, Art & Music, solo popup exhibition Women on the Verge at The Cost Annex gallery in Boston was selected as a Critic’s Pick in The Boston Globe’s arts section, “The Ticket.”

• Jessica Parr, History, was awarded $2,000 from the New York Public Library for her proposal, “To Drink Samaria’s Flood.”

• Michael Zachary, Art & Music, was awarded an international artist residency fellowship at the Joseph and Annie Albers Foundation in Ireland.

• Eduardo Febles, trans., In the Valley of Tears by Patrick Autreaux (UIT Books, 2019) • Sheldon George and Jean Wyatt, eds, Reading Contemporary Black British and African American Women Writers: Race, Ethics, Narrative Form (Routledge, 2020) • Lydia Fash, The Sketch, The Tale, and the Beginnings of American Literature (University of Virginia Press, 2020)

Gwen Ifill College faculty are committed to mentoring student-driven work and independent learning.

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Passionate Leaders Project Student Awardees Undergraduate Faculty-Student Collaborative Fellowships

28 Graduate Thesis 7 Graduate Student Professional Development Grants 2020 VIRTUAL SHOWCASE OF UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH & CREATIVITY Because of the impact of COVID-19, Simmons was not able to host the Undergraduate Symposium on-campus this year. Instead, presenters were invited to deliver a video presentation of their work. In spite of such limitations, 213 students in the arts, media, humanities, social sciences, policy and practice, and the natural, behavioral, health, and data sciences, submitted their work to be exhibited. These presentations were created by individuals and groups of students, and reflect a variety of opinions and perspectives.

Ifill Student Presentations at the 2020 Showcase • Juliana Gamba ‘20: “Gained in Translation: Adapting Félix Guattari’s A Love of UIQ to reflect Latinx Consciousness” • Libby Giannechini ‘20: “Musical Storytelling in the Tone Poems of Richard Strauss” • Cara Mackenzie ‘21: “It is Time to Stop Forgetting: The Reenactment of Women’s Trauma in Irish Literature” • Krystianna Pietrzak ‘20: “Chasing Wanderlust: A Student’s Guide to Traveling in Europe” • Lilli Thorne ‘20: “Who Kindly Greet Me Home: Queer and Gendered Spaces in Settlement Houses, 1890-1930”

STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT

NEW BOOKS BY FACULTY

STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT BY THE NUMBERS

GRADUATE PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT FUNDS The Ifill College Graduate Student Professional Development Fund provides financial assistance to graduate students who are presenting original work (scholarly or creative) at academic or professional conferences or whose research for thesis or independent projects (scholarly or creative) requires funding. This year, seven projects were approved for funding.

• Claire Brislin, “Scarlett Goes to Yosemite” (Research at Yosemite National Park) • Kara Adams, Research at New York City Municipal Archives • Bria Gambrell, National Women’s Studies Association Conference

STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT

• Matisse DuPont, National Women’s Studies Association Conference • Taylor Burns, “Feminisms Here and Now: Difficult Attachments” Conference at the University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill • Gretchen Hohmeyer, Children’s Literature Association Conference • Emily Dickson, Southwest Popular/American Culture Association • Giavanna Worthy, Southwest Popular/American Culture Association • Elizabeth Heyrman, Southwest Popular/American Culture Association

STUDENT ART EXHIBITION The annual student show presented artwork from all students studying drawing, painting, photography, and printmaking in Fall ’19.

This exhibition was held in the Trustman Gallery from January 13-29, 2020 with an opening reception on January 23, 2020.

Artwork from the Student Art Exhibition.

IFILL SCHOLARSHIPS The Ifill scholarship program seeks to carry on Gwen Ifill’s legacy by helping to turn the next generation’s potential into excellence. Ifill scholarships support continuing students who demonstrate exceptional promise in the classroom and who are from under-represented groups, have financial need, and are pursuing a degree in any academic program in Ifill College. This year’s recipients were: Juliana Gamba ‘20

Anna Zhang ‘20

Communications major, Cinema and Media Studies minor

History and Sociology major; East Asian Studies minor

Autumn LedgisterCummins ‘20 East Asian Studies major, Elementary Education minor

COMMTRACKS

Erica Moura, Assistant Professor of Practice, finished the first year of her two-year term (2019-2021). The Ifill Faculty Fellow in Student-Driven Media provides faculty leadership around efforts to carry on the legacy of Gwen Ifill’s commitment to professional excellence and an informed and engaged public, including forming and chairing the new Student Productions Advisory Board.

CommTracks is the annual magazine produced by seniors from the Communications Department at Simmons University. Although CommTracks has been published as a print magazine since its inaugural issue in 2006, the students published the magazine online in an effort to carry on tradition despite the cancellation of inperson classes and senior celebrations due to COVID-19.

THE SIMMONS VOICE

SIMMONS RADIO: “THE SHARK”

The Simmons Voice is the only studentrun newspaper at Simmons University.

The Voice first started in 1922 and continues to serve the Simmons community to this day. In Spring 2020, the Voice continued to report digitally on impacts of the pandemic, racial justice demonstrations, and the transition to online learning.

Simmons University Radio streams live programming onto the Internet 24 hours a day, seven days a week. As a member of the Intercollegiate Broadcasting System and an affiliate of the IBS/Backbone Student Radio Network, the students of Simmons University Radio have received a number of awards for their outstanding work.

SIDELINES MAGAZINE Sidelines, the student literary magazine, features short stories, poems, photographs, and art by students. Sidelines published a 2020 Mini Edition of the magazine remotely, despite the pandemic, and plans to publish a full edition in the Fall 2020 semester.

NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF BLACK JOURNALISTS: IFILL DELEGATION

Website: simmonsvoice.com

In Fall 2019, Ifill College sent its first delegation to the National Association of Black Journalists Convention in Miami. A’mina Dowe ’19, Lennox Orion ’20, Maya Valentine ’19, Rebekah Stewartson ‘22, and Priscilla WiltshireBland ’20 were joined by Dean Brian Norman and Donna Stewartson, Director of Operations.

STUDENT-DRIVEN MEDIA

FACULTY FELLOW AND ADVISORY BOARD

ALUMNX ACHIEVEMENT

REFLECTIONS ON THE YEAR

89 Gifts 84 Donors $249,567.20 295 Volunteers

Student

Total

IN THE NEWS • Luisana Duarte Armendáriz, MA/MFA ‘18: Published her first book with Tu Books/Lee & Low Publishers titled Julieta and the Diamond Enigma

ALUMNX ACHIEVEMENT

• Corrie Locke-Hardy, MA ‘20: Co-creator of “The Tiny Activist” website, which focuses on inclusive children’s books • Giavanna Worthy, ‘20: Contributor to the Survivor Diversity Campaign, which implements anti-racist initiatives on CBS • Autumn Allen, MA/MFA ‘18: Selected as the Associates of the Boston Public Library Writer-inResidence for 2020-2021 • Michael Rush, MA ‘01, MS ‘03, Received the highest honor from the Society of American Archivists • Bridgett Pride, MA-MS ‘18, Amplified marginalized voices at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture

“I couldn’t be more grateful to the staff and faculty for all the ways they have encouraged me and provided me with opportunities during my time at Simmons. I’m always touched by the ways Professors Erica Moura, Rachel Gans-Boriskin, and Judith Aronson support me academically, provide guidance, and push me to do my best … Dr. Briana Martino was my SURPASs mentor and is my academic advisor. While I came to Simmons knowing I wanted to study Communications, they truly sparked my passion for studying theory and applying it to my creative projects. Professor Martino’s intelligence, care, and enthusiasm for supporting my independent learning has been an invaluable part of my growth as a student.”

–Juliana Gamba ‘20, Communications and Cinema & Media Studies student, Ifill Scholarship recipient

Alumnx “Simmons prepared me for every single job I have held in my career by teaching me to be curious, be informed, think critically, communicate effectively, and be confident … I have mentored Simmons students all my life. I believe mentors and coaches are instrumental in one’s development—both personal and professional. I’ve had many good mentors and coaches. Paying it forward has always been important to me. It is always a pleasure to engage with Simmons students and alumnx.”

–Carmen Báez ‘79, ‘03HD, 2019 Mentor-in-Residence

Faculty “We are called to understand and respond to the antiBlack violence and systemic racism that gave rise to national protests and demonstrations following the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, Rayshard Brooks, and Elijah McClain, which join a much longer list of names and a history as old as our nation. Meanwhile, a global pandemic disproportionately affects communities of color and exacerbates preexisting inequalities … Many of us have long specialized in questions of social change, inequality, and how to imagine and create just communities. That accumulated knowledge from the media, arts, and humanities is especially precious right now.”

Friend “The ’70s was a time of enormous social upheaval and student protests, not only at Simmons but on campuses across the nation … We were part of the African American sisterhood that, through our lived experiences, understood the depth of the historic struggles we would continue to face, and bonded us in a collective commitment to break down barriers. Our Simmons experience empowered us as women to step forward as leaders and change agents.”

–Theresa Brewer ’78, co-president of the Simmons Alumnae/i Association, speaking at the Gwen Ifill “Forever” Stamp celebration, hosted at Simmons on February 4, 2020

—Gwen Ifill

REFLECTIONS ON THE YEAR

–Ifill College faculty statement of solidarity for racial justice, collaboratively written by faculty members

Our future lies in the smart, engaged, interesting, edgy young people who are finding a different way to tell a story.

REFLECTIONS ON THE YEAR