Simmons to Retire as President of Brown University

Known as the "Jackie Robinson of college presidents," Ruth Simmons, President of Brown University is retiring.  As the first African American appointed as president of an Ivy League school, Simmons became president of Brown in 2000.

Under her leadership, Brown increased its faculty by 20 percent, improved financial aid and built a new home for its medical school.

In 2002, Newsweek selected Simmons as a Ms. Woman of the Year, while in 2001, Time named her as America's best college president. Simmons has announced that she plans to step down from the Brown presidency at the end of the current academic year.

Simmons, the 18th president of Brown, is a Dillard University and Harvard graduate.