Clark Kerr Lecture 2024: Access and Equity in Higher Education: What Now? [Video]

Dr. Ruth J. Simmons, a distinguished academic leader, professor and author, will be at UC Berkeley to deliver the 2024 Clark Kerr Lecture: Access and Equity in Higher Education—What Now?

Dr. Simmons will address the effect of the Supreme Court affirmative action decision, the surge in opposition to diversity efforts and the banning of race specific content in curricula in higher education. Reflecting on similarities to the pre-civil rights era, she will review the possible effects of these actions and explore measures higher education might undertake to avoid losing momentum in the struggle for broad access.

Dr. Simmons’ contributions to the field of education are enormous. She holds a PhD in Romance languages and literatures from Harvard University and is currently the President’s Distinguished Fellow at Rice University. She served as president of Prairie View A&M University, a HBCU, from 2017 until 2023. Under her leadership, Prairie View was reclassified as a R-2 Research University. From 2001 to 2012, she served as the 18th president of Brown University, where she was the first African American president of an Ivy League institution. Dr. Simmons made Brown University a need-blind institution, and established a committee on slavery and justice to investigate Brown’s historical involvement with the transatlantic slave trade. Before Brown University, she headed Smith College, beginning in 1995. At Smith, she launched the nation’s first engineering program at a women’s college. In addition, Dr. Simmons held leadership positions and various advisory roles at other universities. As a transformational leader, Dr. Simmons has received many awards and more than thirty honorary degrees.

In recognition of her significant influence on higher education, the Center for Studies in Higher Education (CSHE) has invited Dr. Simmons to give the 9th Clark Kerr Lecture. Established in 2001 by CSHE, the Clark Kerr Lecture Series is funded by the Carnegie Corporation and the University of California’s Office of the President. The series honors Clark Kerr, who served as President of the University of California between 1958 and 1967.

CSHE is the first research institute in the United States devoted to the study of higher education. The Center’s mission is to produce and support multi-disciplinary scholarly perspectives on strategic issues in higher education, conduct policy relevant research and promote the development of a community of scholars in higher education.