{{Short description|Private women's university in Boston, Massachusetts, US}} {{About|the college in Massachusetts|other schools of the same name|List of colleges named Simmons}} {{Use American English|date=July 2025}} {{Use mdy dates|date=December 2017}} {{Infobox university | name = Simmons University | former_names = Simmons College (1899–2018) | image = Simmons univ seal.png | image_size = 150 | caption = | motto = | established = {{Start date and age|1899}} | type = [[Private university]] | endowment = $253.6 million (2025)<ref>{{cite web |url=https://edge.sitecorecloud.io/nacubo1-nacubo-prd-dc8b/media/Nacubo/Documents/EndowmentFiles/2025-NCSE-Endowment-Market-Values-for-US-and-Canadian-Institutions-FINAL.xlsx |title=U.S. and Canadian 2025 NCSE Participating Institutions Listed by Fiscal Year 2025 Endowment Market Value |publisher=National Association of College and University Business Officers (NACUBO) |access-date=February 19, 2026 |format=XLSX}}</ref> | accreditation = [[New England Commission of Higher Education|NECHE]] | president = [[Lynn Perry Wooten]] | faculty = 186 full-time | students = 5,348 (fall 2025)<ref>{{Cite web |title=Simmons University at a Glance |url=https://www.simmons.edu/why-simmons/simmons-university-glance |publisher=Simmons University}}</ref> | undergrad = 1,675 (fall 2025) | postgrad = 3,673 (fall 2025) | city = [[Boston]] | state = Massachusetts | country = United States | coordinates = {{Coord|42.339800|-71.100200|region:US-MA_type:edu|display=title,inline}} | nickname = [[Sharks]] | campus = [[urban area|Urban]] | campus_size = {{Convert|12|acre}} | affiliations = [[Colleges of the Fenway]] | website = {{URL|http://www.simmons.edu}} | logo = Simmons University Boston Word mark.png | logo_size = 200 }}
'''Simmons University''' (previously '''Simmons College''') is a [[private university]] in [[Boston]], Massachusetts, United States. It was established in 1899 by clothing manufacturer [[John Simmons (clothing manufacturer)|John Simmons]]. In 2018, it reorganized its structure and changed its name to a university. Its undergraduate program is [[Women's colleges in the United States|women-focused]] while its graduate programs are [[co-educational]].
Simmons is [[Higher education accreditation in the United States|accredited]] by the [[New England Commission of Higher Education]].<ref name=":0" /> In 2020, it accepted 83{{Nbsp}}percent of applicants for undergraduate admission.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Simmons University |url=https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/simmons-university-2208 |website=[[U.S. News & World Report]]}}</ref> The university is divided into two campuses in the [[Fenway–Kenmore|Fenway-Kenmore]] neighborhood totaling {{Convert|12|acre}}, one of which has five academic buildings and the other of which has nine [[Georgian architecture|Georgian-style]] residential buildings.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |title=Simmons University Overview |url=https://www.collegedata.com/college-search/simmons-college |website=collegedata.com |access-date=2021-11-01 |language=en}}</ref>
As of fall 2025, the university enrolled 1,675 undergraduates and 3,673 graduate students.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Simmons University at a Glance |url=https://www.simmons.edu/why-simmons/simmons-university-glance |publisher=Simmons University}}</ref> Its athletics teams compete in [[NCAA Division III]] as the Sharks.
==History== Simmons was founded in 1899 with a bequest by [[John Simmons (clothing manufacturer)|John Simmons]], a wealthy clothing manufacturer in Boston. Simmons founded the college, called '''Simmons College''', based on the belief that women ought to live independently by offering a [[Liberal Arts|liberal arts]] education for undergraduate women to integrate into professional work experience.<ref name="History: About Simmons College">{{cite web | title = History: About Simmons College| work = Simmons College | url= http://www.simmons.edu/overview/about/today/history}}</ref> [[Sarah Louise Arnold]] was the school's first [[Dean (education)|dean]].<ref name="Simmons">{{cite web |title=Sarah Louise Arnold: The Suffragist Dean |url=https://beatleyweb.simmons.edu/suffrage/exhibits/show/simmons-university-and-the-suf/suffragist-dean |publisher=Simmons University |access-date=12 May 2022}}</ref>
Simmons is a member of the [[Colleges of the Fenway]] consortium, which also includes [[Emmanuel College, Boston|Emmanuel College]], [[Wentworth Institute of Technology]], [[Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences]], and [[Massachusetts College of Art and Design]]. Simmons absorbed [[Garland Junior College]] in 1976.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://collegehistorygarden.blogspot.com/2014/12/massachusetts-colleges-that-have-closed.html|title=Massachusetts Colleges that Have Closed, Merged, or Changed Names|date=December 2, 2014 |publisher=Brown, Ray C.| access-date=January 8, 2015}}</ref> ([[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]] student in 1914. Furthermore, Simmons was one of the few private colleges not to impose admission quotas on [[Jewish]] students for the first half of the 1900s.<ref name="History: About Simmons College"/>
The school's MBA program was the first in the world designed specifically for women.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://online.simmons.edu/mba/|title=Online Master of Business Administration |publisher= Simmons College|access-date=2018-06-20|language=en}}</ref> Today, the undergraduate program is women-centered, while the graduate schools are [[coed]].<ref>"[https://www.simmons.edu/about/our-mission-history Our Mission and History]", Simmons University, 2022. Retrieved Aug. 23, 2022.</ref>
In 2014, Simmons College teamed up with for-profit online program manager [[2U (company)|2U]], a deal that would generate hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue for the school.<ref>{{cite web |title=Graduate programs have become a cash cow for struggling colleges. What does that mean for students? |url=https://www.pbs.org/newshour/education/graduate-programs-become-cash-cow-struggling-colleges-mean-students |website=[[PBS News Hour]] |date=September 18, 2017 |publisher=PBS |access-date=1 December 2021}}</ref>
In November 2014, the institution released an explicit policy on the acceptance of [[transgender]] 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]] to accept transgender women.<ref name="Simmons College Opens Its Doors to Trans Students">{{cite web | title = Simmons College Opens Its Doors to Trans Students| work = The Advocate | date = November 11, 2014 | url= http://www.advocate.com/education/2014/11/11/simmons-college-opens-its-doors-trans-students}}</ref> Government documentation of gender is not required. (Graduate programs are co-educational, so gender identity is not of concern.)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://simmons.edu/admission-and-financial-aid/undergraduate-admission/how-to-apply/admission-requirements-and-deadlines/admission-policy-for-transgender-students-faq|title=Admission Policy for Transgender Students FAQ|website=Simmons.edu|access-date=December 1, 2017}}</ref>
In 2016, the MBA program went online as MBA@Simmons, and began admitting men.<ref>Valentina, Zarya. "[https://fortune.com/2015/08/28/simmons-college-all-female-mba-closes/ The only all-female MBA program is closing—could it have been saved?]" ''Fortune,'' Aug. 28, 2015. Retrieved Aug. 23, 2022.</ref>
In 2018, Simmons College changed its name to '''Simmons University''' after reorganizing the structure of the school.<ref>{{cite web |title=Simmons Announces University Designation |url=http://www.simmons.edu/news/messages-to-the-simmons-community/2018/may/simmons-announces-university-designation |website=www.simmons.edu |access-date=5 October 2018}}</ref>
==Campus== [[File:Morse Hall - Simmons College - DSC09854.JPG|thumb|Morse Hall, located on the residential campus]] [[File:Bartol Hall - Simmons College - DSC09849.JPG|thumb|Bartol Hall, one of the dining halls at Simmons]]
Simmons University is currently divided into two campuses located in the [[Fenway–Kenmore|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]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Back Bay East|url=http://bwht.org/back-bay-east/|website=Boston Women's Heritage Trail}}</ref>
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 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 Fall 2026.<ref name=":2">{{cite web|publisher=Simmons University|title=One Simmons|date=2022|url=https://www.simmons.edu/about/our-future/campus-that-works}}</ref>
Simmons University entered into an agreement with [[Skanska]], a multinational construction and property development company. Skanska will build the new Living and Learning Center building, and in exchange, Simmons University will give Skanska a 99-year lease for the grounds of the residential campus.<ref name=":2" /> Skanska will plan and execute commercial development of the former residential campus after the construction of the Living and Learning Center is completed.<ref>{{cite web|author=Probert, Annie|title=Developer Proposes Massive Lab and Housing Complex Where Simmons Dorms Now Stand|newspaper=[[Boston Globe]]|date=January 7, 2022|url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/2022/01/07/business/developer-proposes-massive-lab-housing-complex-where-simmons-dorms-now-stand/}}</ref> [[File:Simmons University (54954488429).jpg|thumb|Simmons College Main College Building (2025)]] [[File:Simmons University Helen G. Drinan Hall.jpg|alt=The Simmons University Helen G. Drinan Hall. It is a five-story building with a stone and glass facade.|thumb|Simmons University Helen G. Drinan Hall (2026)]]
===Academic Campus=== The Academic Campus is located at 300 [[The Fenway]] in the [[Longwood Medical Area]]. It is immediately adjacent to the [[Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum]] and the [[Boston Latin School]]. This campus currently consists of five buildings:
* One Palace Road (the 2nd through 4th floors are leased to [[Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences]]<ref>{{cite web | title=Simmons signs over 'partial lease' of Palace Road building to MCPHS to bring in more revenue | url=https://simmonsvoice.com/13694/news/simmons-signs-partial-lease-to-mcphs/ }}</ref>) * Main College Building * Beatley Library/Lefavour Hall (renovated in 2023 to also house the science facilities<ref name=":2" />) * Park Science Center (has since been demolished) * Helen G. Drinan Hall (formerly the School of Management and Academic Building) (a 2017 green construction<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.leekennedy.com/project/simmons-college-school-of-management/|title=Simmons College School of Management - LEED Gold|website=Lee Kennedy Co Inc|access-date=December 4, 2017}}</ref>{{Dead link|date=February 2026}})
==Student body== According to the College Scorecard, the racial and ethnic composition of the undergraduate population is 62% white, 11% Asian, 8% Hispanic, 6% black, and 5% non-resident alien. Thirty percent of the undergraduate student body is Pell Grant eligible.<ref>{{cite web |title=Simmons University |url=https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/school/?167783-Simmons-University |website=collegescorecard.ed.gov |publisher=US Department of Education |access-date=1 December 2021}}</ref>
===Admissions=== Simmons received 2,905 first-year applications for admission in fall 2020. They admitted 2,398 applicants (82.5% acceptance rate) and enrolled 451. The average high school [[Grading in education#United States|GPA]] of first-year students enrolled in fall 2020 was 3.69; the middle 50% range of SAT composite scores was 1080–1250; and the middle 50% range of ACT composite scores was 24–29.<ref>{{cite web |title=Common Data Set Simmons University 2020-2021 |url=https://www.simmons.edu/why-simmons/common-data-set |access-date=28 June 2024 |website=Simmons University |publisher=}}</ref>
===Sustainability=== Former President [[Susan C. Scrimshaw|Susan Scrimshaw]] signed the [[American College & 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.<ref name="Environmental Commitments">{{cite web|title=Environmental Commitments|url=http://green.simmons.edu/commitments/|access-date=June 7, 2010|publisher=Simmons College}}</ref>
==Academics== Simmons University is [[Higher education accreditation in the United States|accredited]] by the [[New England Commission of Higher Education]].<ref name=":0">{{Citation|title=Massachusetts Institutions – NECHE|publisher=[[New England Commission of Higher Education]]|url=https://www.neche.org/institutions/ma/|access-date=May 26, 2021}}</ref> Its most popular undergraduate majors, by number out of 412 graduates in 2022, were:<ref>{{cite web |url=https://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator/?q=simmons&s=all&id=167783#programs |website=nces.ed.gov |publisher=U.S. Dept of Education |title=Simmons University |access-date=February 28, 2023}}</ref>
* Registered Nursing/Registered Nurse (117) * Family Practice Nurse/Nursing (47) * Biopsychology (25) * Exercise Science and Kinesiology (23) * Psychology (22)
Simmons University reorganized its academic structure in 2024 to foster interdisciplinary learning and cross-departmental collaboration among its constituent schools:
* Gwen Ifill School of Media, Humanities, and Social Sciences * School of Library and Information Science (SLIS), est. 1902<ref>{{citation |chapter=Library Schools and Short Courses: Simmons College School of Library Science |chapter-url=https://hdl.handle.net/2027/nyp.33433069135071?urlappend=%3Bseq=220 |title= American Library Annual 1917/1918 | pages=7 v |publisher= [[R.R. Bowker]] |location=New York |hdl = 2027/nyp.33433069135071?urlappend=%3Bseq=220}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |journal = Public Libraries |title=Views of Library School Directors: Simmons College |first=June Richardson |last=Donnelly |url=https://hdl.handle.net/2027/hvd.hxdkbs?urlappend=%3Bseq=37 |via=[[HathiTrust]] |volume=23 |number=1 |publisher=Library Bureau |location= Chicago |year= 1918 |hdl=2027/hvd.hxdkbs?urlappend=%3Bseq=37 }}</ref> * School of Management * School of Nursing * School of Sciences and Health Professions * School of Social Work
==Athletics== [[File:Simmons sharks logo.png|thumb|Simmons Sharks wordmark]]
Simmons University sponsors athletics teams, nicknamed the ''Sharks'', 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 [[National Collegiate Athletic Association|NCAA]] [[Division III (NCAA)|Division III]] in the [[Great Northeast Athletic Conference]] (GNAC), the [[New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference]] (NEWMAC) and the [[Eastern College Athletic Conference]] (ECAC).
Simmons athletes won some of the early national [[NCAA Division I Women's Tennis Championship#Singles and Doubles Championships (1922–1982)|intercollegiate women's tennis championships]] in singles (Marjorie Sachs, 1932) and doubles (Dorrance Chase, 1930 and 1932, with Sachs).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.tennisforum.com/threads/pre-ncaa-womens-collegiate-tennis.1378268/|title=Pre-NCAA women's collegiate tennis|website=Tennis Forum|access-date=25 May 2021|via=Newspapers.com}} (''Boston Globe'', 1929-1953. ''St. Louis Post-Dispatch'', 1954-1963.)</ref>
==Notable alumnae== Simmons alumnae include:
{{Div col|colwidth=30em}} * [[Emily Banks (actress)|Emily Banks]], class of 1959, actress [[Shore Leave (Star Trek: The Original Series)|Shore Leave]] and model [[Miss Rheingold]] * [[Susan Porter Benson]] (1943–2005), historian * [[Julie Berry (author)]], children's author * [[Lenore Blum]] (born 1942), computer scientist and mathematician * [[Kristin Cashore]], author * [[Margaret Curtis]] (1883–1965), social worker and athlete * [[Jahaira DeAlto]] (died 2021), social worker, lgbt activist, and domestic violence victims' advocate * [[Denise Di Novi]] (born 1956), film producer * [[Barbara Clark Elam]] (1929–2017) * [[Rehema Ellis]], NBC News correspondent * [[Jessica Fay]], politician * [[Dorothy Celeste Boulding Ferebee]] (1898–1980), class of 1920, African-American physician and activist * [[David Ferriero|David S. Ferriero]] (born 1949) 10th [[Archivist of the United States]] * [[Nnenna Freelon]] (born 1954), jazz singer * [[Ann M. Fudge]], businesswoman, former CEO of [[Young & Rubicam]] * [[Tipper Gore]] (born 1947), attended (Garland Junior College), former Second Lady of the United States * [[Eolyn Klugh Guy]], social worker associated with [[YWCA]] * [[Christine Heppermann]], author and poet * [[Theodora Kimball Hubbard]], landscape architect, librarian * [[Marjorie Hulsizer Copher]], dietitian who served in [[World War I]] * [[Gwen Ifill]] (1955–2016), class of 1977, journalist, television newscaster and author * [[Louise Andrews Kent]] (1886–1969), author * [[Megan Dowd Lambert]], children's book author and academic, Master of Arts degree (2002) * [[Mackenzi Lee]], author * [[Gail Levin (art historian)|Gail Levin]], class of 1969, art historian * [[Elinor Lipman]] (born 1950), novelist * [[Bertha Mahony]] (1882–1969), founder of ''[[The Horn Book Magazine]]'' * [[Barbara Margolis]] (1929–2009), [[prisoners' rights]] advocate who served as the official greeter of [[New York City]]<ref>[[Margalit Fox|Fox, Margalit]]. [https://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/13/nyregion/13margolis.html "Barbara Margolis, Prisoners' Advocate, Dies at 79"], ''[[The New York Times]]'', July 12, 2009. Accessed July 21, 2009.</ref> * [[Susan K. Martin]] (1965), librarian * [[Hannah M. McCarthy]], college administrator and businessperson * [[Cheyney McKnight]], historical interpreter * [[Jeffrey Mello]], [[Episcopal Church in the United States of America|Episcopal]] priest ([[Episcopal Diocese of Connecticut|Bishop of Connecticut]]) * [[Eleanor Milleville]] (1922–1991), American sculptor * [[Catherine N. Norton]] (1941–2014), American librarian<ref name=whoi.edu>{{cite web|title=In Memoriam: Catherine (Norris) Norton|url=http://www.whoi.edu/main/obituaries?tid=3622&cid=208009|publisher=Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution|access-date=September 7, 2015}}</ref> * [[Sondra Perl]], Professor [[Emeritus|Emerita]] of [[English literature|English]] at [[Lehman College]] and director of the Ph.D. in [[Composition studies|Composition and Rhetoric]] at the [[Graduate Center, CUNY|Graduate Center of the City University of New York]]<ref>[https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/539820268/ "College Corner"], ''The Item of Millburn and Short Hills'', September 1, 1966. Accessed May 6, 2021, via [[Newspapers.com]]. "Three Millburn High School alumnae have been named to the dean's list of scholars at Simmons College in Boston for the year..... Sondra A. Perl, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Herman Perl of South Orange Avenue, will be a sophomore in the department of education."</ref> * [[Bertha Reynolds]], American social worker * [[Srinagarindra]] (1900–1995), Princess Mother of [[Thailand]] * [[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]], former provost of [[Elizabethtown College]] * [[Suzyn Waldman]], [[color commentator]] for the [[New York Yankees]] * [[Allyson Schwartz]], class of 1970, U.S. Representative [[Pennsylvania's 13th congressional district]] 2004– * [[Doris L. Thompson]], class of 1927, New Hampshire representative * [[Anne Williams Wheaton]], class of 1912, publicist and first White House Associate Press Secretary * [[Esther Wilkins|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]], 1861–1931, librarian and lay missionary who actively promoted Chinese early education and librarianship * [[Alex Wright (author)|Alex Wright]], American writer and [[information architect]] * [[Nancy Ip]], President of the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology * [[Aline A. Yamashita]], Guamanian educator and politician<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.kuam.com/story/18937681/aline-yamashita |title=Aline Yamashita |website=kuam.com |date=July 3, 2012 |accessdate=October 15, 2021}}</ref> * [[Jill Zarin]] (born 1963), reality television personality {{Div col end}}
==Notable faculty== * [[William M. Bellamy]], former U.S. ambassador to [[Kenya]] from 2003 to 2006<ref>{{Cite web|title=William Mark Bellamy|url=https://www.csis.org/people/william-mark-bellamy|access-date=2020-07-13|publisher=Center for Strategic and International Studies|language=en}}</ref> * [[Harry C. Bentley]], founder and namesake of [[Bentley University|Bentley College]] served as professor of accounting * [[Nancy Bond]], winner of a [[Newbery Medal|Newbery Honor]], taught at the [[Simmons College Center for the Study of Children's Literature]] from 1979 to 2001 * [[Dana Chandler]], artist and activist. * [[Quindara Oliver Dodge]], dietitian, professor of institution management * [[Alicia Craig Faxon]], art historian * [[Emily Hale]], speech and drama teacher, and muse of [[T. S. Eliot]] * [[Megan Dowd Lambert]], children's book author and academic; senior lecturer at Simmons * [[Gregory Maguire]], author, professor and co-director at the [[Simmons College Center for the Study of Children's Literature]] from 1979 to 1985 * [[Isadore Gilbert Mudge]], librarian, part-time lecturer * [[Mary Schenck Woolman]], pioneer in vocational education
=== Presidents === * Henry Lefavour (1901–1933)<ref>{{Cite web |title=Introduction · Presidents@Simmons · Presidents@Simmons |url=https://beatleyweb.simmons.edu/presidents/exhibits/show/presidents/intro |access-date=2023-11-26 |website=beatleyweb.simmons.edu}}</ref> * Bancroft Beatley (1933–1955) * William Edgar Park (1955–1970) * William J. Holmes (1970–1993) * Jean Dowdall (1993–1995) * Daniel S. Cheever Jr. (1995–2006) * [[Susan C. Scrimshaw]] (2006–2008) * Helen Drinan (2008–2020) * [[Lynn Perry Wooten]] (2020–present)
==See also== * [[Simmons College Center for the Study of Children's Literature]]
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== {{Ccat}} * {{Oweb}} * [https://athletics.simmons.edu/ Athletics website]
{{Current women's universities and colleges in the United States}} {{Colleges of the Fenway}} {{Colleges and universities in metropolitan Boston}} {{Great Northeast Athletic Conference navbox}} {{New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference navbox}} {{Authority control}}
[[Category:Simmons University| ]] [[Category:1899 establishments in Massachusetts]] [[Category:Liberal arts colleges in Massachusetts]] [[Category:Private universities and colleges in Massachusetts]] [[Category:Universities and colleges established in 1899]] [[Category:Universities and colleges in Boston]] [[Category:Women's universities and colleges in the United States]] [[Category:Women's universities and colleges in Massachusetts]]