Ruth Simmons (born Ruth Jean Stubblefield, July 3, 1945) is an American professor and academic administrator. She is president of Prairie View A&M University, a historically black university. Simmons previously served as the 18th president of Brown University from 2001 to 2012, where she was the first African American president of an Ivy League institution. Prior to Brown University, she headed Smith College, one of the Seven Sisters and the largest women's college in the United States, beginning in 1995. In 2017, she was called out of retirement and named the eighth president of Prairie View A&M University in her home state of Texas. On March 11, 2022, she announced that she would step down as president when the university names her successor. She will continue serving at Prairie View A&M