# Adele Simmons

> Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Adele_Simmons
> Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Adele_Simmons.md
> Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adele_Simmons
> Source revision: 1349752890
> License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)

**Adele Smith Simmons** (born June 21, 1941) is an American academic, [business director](/source/Director_(business)), philanthropist, [academic administrator](/source/Academic_administration), the third president of [Hampshire College](/source/Hampshire_College) in [Amherst, Massachusetts](/source/Amherst,_Massachusetts), from 1977 to 1989 and the second president of the [John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation](/source/John_D._and_Catherine_T._MacArthur_Foundation) from 1989 to 1999.[1] Simmons also served as the dean of student affairs at [Princeton University](/source/Princeton_University), from 1972 to 1977, where she was the first female dean.

Simmons currently serves as the president of the Global Philanthropy Partnership, a [Chicago](/source/Chicago)-based organization that "provides information and resources to donors and donor advisors interested in addressing issues of global importance."[2]

## Biography

### Early life

Simmons, born **Adele Dunlap Smith**, was born on June 21, 1941, in [Lake Forest](/source/Lake_Forest,_Illinois), [Illinois](/source/Illinois), to Hermon Dunlap Smith, former president of [Marsh & McLennan](/source/Marsh_%26_McLennan) who died in 1983, and Ellen Thorne, an [ornithologist](/source/Ornithologist) who died in 1977.[3] Simmons grew up in Lake Forest, Illinois, an affluent suburb of [Chicago](/source/Chicago). She has two sisters, Deborah Haight and Ellen Buchen, and one brother, Farwell Smith. Her father, Hermon Dunlap Smith was the president, chairman and chief executive officer of [Marsh & McLennan Inc.](/source/Marsh_%26_McLennan), the International Insurance Brokers, and chairman of the Field Foundation of Illinois.[4] Simmons later attended [Garrison Forest School](/source/Garrison_Forest_School), an exclusive girls' boarding school outside [Baltimore](/source/Baltimore), [Maryland](/source/Maryland).[5]

### Education

Simmons attended [Radcliffe College](/source/Radcliffe_College) in [Cambridge, Massachusetts](/source/Cambridge,_Massachusetts), where she graduated with a [B.A.](/source/Bachelor_of_Arts) in 1963. While at Radcliffe College, Simmons served as a protégé of the college's president, [Mary Bunting](/source/Mary_Bunting).[6] Simmons subsequently attended [Oxford University](/source/Oxford_University) in [Oxford, England](/source/Oxford,_England), where she graduated with a [Ph.D.](/source/Ph.D.) in African history in 1969.[7][3] For her doctoral thesis, Simmons stayed on the island of [Mauritius](/source/Mauritius) in the [Indian Ocean](/source/Indian_Ocean), gathering material for a book and for her doctoral thesis.[8] Simmons went on to work as a reporter for *[The Economist](/source/The_Economist)* from 1968 to 1969, where she covered [North Africa](/source/North_Africa) before returning to Cambridge, Massachusetts.[9]

### Career positions

Simmons' past [academic administrative](/source/Academic_administration) positions include professor of African studies at [Tufts University](/source/Tufts_University), dean of [Jackson College for Women](/source/Jackson_College_for_Women) at [Tufts University](/source/Tufts_University), professor of history at [Princeton University](/source/Princeton_University), dean of student affairs at [Princeton University](/source/Princeton_University) (1972–77), [Harvard University](/source/Harvard_University) [Harvard Board of Overseers](/source/Harvard_Board_of_Overseers) board member (1972–79) where she was one of the first women elected,[3] president of [Hampshire College](/source/Hampshire_College) (1977–89), and president of the [John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation](/source/John_D._and_Catherine_T._MacArthur_Foundation), from 1989 to 1999.

### President of Hampshire College

Simmons served as president of [Hampshire College](/source/Hampshire_College) in [Amherst, Massachusetts](/source/Amherst,_Massachusetts), from 1977 to 1989. Simmons, the first woman president of Hampshire College, was one of very few women to head a coeducational college in the United States during her term as president. During her term as president, Simmons raised Hampshire's endowment by $8 million and raised the number of students receiving financial aid from 20 percent, on her arrival in 1977, to 50 percent.[5] At Hampshire College, the Adele Simmons Hall (or **ASH**), a facility that is home to Hampshire's School of [Cognitive Science](/source/Cognitive_Science), was named in her honor.[10]

### Other administrative positions

Simmons has also held several other administrative positions throughout her career. "Mrs. Simmons also served as a director of [Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc.](/source/Marsh_%26_McLennan_Companies,_Inc.), since 1978 until May 20, 2015. She served as president of the [John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation](/source/John_D._and_Catherine_T._MacArthur_Foundation), from 1989 to 1999. She previously served as a director of [ShoreBank](/source/ShoreBank). She served as a director of [First Chicago Corporation](/source/First_Chicago_Bank), since 1990 and The First National Bank of Chicago, a subsidiary of First Chicago Corporation. She served as a director of First Chicago NBD, since December 1995.

Simmons is the current president of the Global Philanthropy Partnership. Simmons serves as a senior associate of the Center for International Studies at the [University of Chicago](/source/University_of_Chicago) and vice chair of Chicago Metropolis 2020 (Metropolis Strategies). She serves as a director of the [Field Museum of Natural History](/source/Field_Museum_of_Natural_History) in [Chicago](/source/Chicago), Synergos Institute, the [Rocky Mountain Institute](/source/Rocky_Mountain_Institute), the [Global Fund for Women](/source/Global_Fund_for_Women), the [Union of Concerned Scientists](/source/Union_of_Concerned_Scientists), and [The American Prospect](/source/The_American_Prospect). She serves as advisory trustee of [Environmental Defense Fund](/source/Environmental_Defense_Fund). She is chair of the committee to visit the Graduate School of Education at Harvard University, a member of the Advisory Board of the World Bank Institute and a senior advisor to The World Economic Forum."[11][12]

## Personal life

Simmons, then *Adele Dunlap Smith*, married John Leroy Simmons on September 18, 1966.[8] The couple have three children.

In August 2013, Simmons and her husband, John, sold their 8,500-square-foot, six-bedroom [Lincoln Park](/source/Lincoln_Park), Chicago home on Arlington Place for nearly $2.83 million.[13]

## References

1. Wilson Smith & Thomas Bender (7 March 2008). [*American Higher Education Transformed, 1940–2005: Documenting the National Discourse*](https://books.google.com/books?id=KFNy-BIExW8C&pg=PA118). JHU Press. pp. 118–. ISBN 978-0-8018-9585-2.

1. ["Global Philanthropy Partnership - Chicago, Illinois"](http://www.global-philanthropy.org/). Global Philanthropy Partnership. Retrieved 2016-03-29.

1. ["Adele Simmons"](http://www.nndb.com/people/117/000169607/). [The Notable Names Database](/source/NNDB). Retrieved 2016-03-29.

1. ["Hermon D. Smith Dies at 83; Chairman of Insurance Firm"](https://www.nytimes.com/1983/05/14/obituaries/hermon-d-smith-dies-at-83-chairman-of-insurance-firm.html). *The New York Times*. 14 May 1983.

1. Butterfield, Fox (4 January 1987). ["She Has Hampshire Feeling Frisky Again"](https://www.nytimes.com/1987/01/04/education/she-has-hampshire-feeling-frisky-again.html?pagewanted=all). *The New York Times*

1. ["Alumni - Wesleyan University"](http://wesconnect.wesleyan.edu/s/1318/images/editor_documents/women_of_wesleyan/simmons__adele.pdf)

1. Barbara J. Love & Nancy F Cott (17 April 2015). [*Feminists Who Changed America, 1963-1975*](https://books.google.com/books?id=HRouCAAAQBAJ&pg=PA424). University of Illinois Press. pp. 424–. ISBN 978-0-252-09747-8.

1. [June 7, 1966 - Miss Adele Dunlap Smith to Be Bride in September - Chicago Tribune Archive](http://archives.chicagotribune.com/1966/06/07/page/39/article/miss-adele-dunlap-smith-to-be-bride-in-september)

1. ["About Us"](http://www.ceres.org/about-us/who-we-are/board-of-directors/adele-smith-simmons)

1. [School of Cognitive Science - www.hampshire.edu](https://www.hampshire.edu/cognitive-science/school-of-cognitive-science)

1. ["Adele Simmons, Metropolis Strategies NFP: Profile & Biography - Bloomberg"](https://www.bloomberg.com/profiles/people/1200915-adele-s-simmons). [Bloomberg Media](/source/Bloomberg_L.P.). Retrieved 2016-03-29.

1. ["Adele S. Simmons: Executive Profile & Biography - Businessweek"](https://www.bloomberg.com/Research/stocks/private/person.asp?personId=181451&privcapId=4345876&previousCapId=289813109&previousTitle=The%20Madison%20Square%20Garden%20Company). [Bloomberg Media](/source/Bloomberg_L.P.). Retrieved 2016-03-29.

1. [Give This Buyer a Genius Grant for Getting a Mansion at Such a Deal - Chicago Magazine - Deal Estate August 2013](http://www.chicagomag.com/Radar/Deal-Estate/August-2013/Give-This-Buyer-a-Genius-Grant-for-Getting-a-Mansion-at-59-Percent-of-Ask/)

---
Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Adele Simmons](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adele_Simmons) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adele_Simmons?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.