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April 14, 2005

Black alumnae gather for Simmons conference

Charmane Higgins

More than 300 black alumnae descended on Simmons College in Boston, last weekend, to attend the black alumnae/i symposium entitled, “The Power of Our Presence, Past, Future.”

College President Daniel Cheever welcomed the alumnae, faculty and staff and asserted that the symposium was destined to be “...one of the handful of key events in Simmons history.”

Among the guests participating in the weekend activities were Gwen Ifill ‘77, moderator and managing editor of “Washington Week” and senior news correspondent of “The Newshour with Jim Lehrer,” Ann Fudge ‘73, chair and CEO of Young & Rubicam, and Rehema Ellis, a national NBC news correspondent.

Playwright and performance artist Anna Deavere Smith shared her take on the power of black women today during Friday’s opening plenary session. Smith is perhaps best known as the author and performer of two one-woman plays about racial tensions in American cities – “Fires in the Mirror” and “Twilight.”

That afternoon panel experts shared their knowledge on topics ranging from the politics of race and gender, raising children of color and financial well-being. Joan Wallace Benjamin, PhD, president and CEO, Home for Little Wanderers and Gail Snowden ’78 School of Management, vice president for Finance & Operations at the Boston Foundation were among the panelists during the concurrent workshops.

Alumnae from the 60s to the Class of 2006 were inspired and challenged by Saturday’s opening plenary speaker, Carla A. Harris (HBS, MBA ’87). Ms. Harris is managing director at Morgan Stanley Dean Witter & Co. She has received numerous accolades, including being named to Fortune magazine’s list of “The 50 Most Powerful Black Executives in Corporate America,” Black Enterprise magazine’s “Top 50 African-Americans on Wall Street,” and Essence magazine’s list of “The 50 Women are Shaping the World.”

During the plenary session entitled “Our Stake in America’s Foreign Policy,” Walter C. Harrington, former ambassador to Nigeria and Senegal and Simmons College Warburg professor along with native Bostonian Ambassador Harriet Elam-Thomas ‘63, diplomat-in-resident at the University of Central Florida discussed their views on emerging global issues.

Ambassador Elam-Thomas noted that the 2005 Black Symposium would provide a heightened interest in Simmons College and its ability to prepare women to be successful in a host of careers. “Simmons College gives young women a sense of self and sisterhood where the network can be beneficial for life,” she observed.

Other noteworthy workshop presenters included Teri Williams, executive vice president, OneUnited Bank; Nadine Thompson, president and CEO, Warm Spirit; Barry Gaither, director and curator, Museum of the National Center of Afro-American Artists and special consultant, Boston Museum of Fine Arts; and Dr. Lynda Morris Parham, senior staff psychologist, Danielsen Institute, Boston University.

Keynote speaker Gwen Ifill ’77 engaged the symposium audience with her often humorous reflections of her student years at Simmons College up to her current career as an accomplished political reporter.

Ms. Ifill holds two of the most highly respected posts in her field. She is moderator and managing editor of “Washington Week,” the longest-running public affairs program on public television, and senior correspondent for “The News Hour with Jim Lehrer.” “Every woman has a hammer in one hand and hope in the other for the life she wants to build,” Ifill stated to the audience of alumnae and current students.

Boston native, Rehema Ellis ’74 hosted Saturday’s evening gala at the Boston Plaza Hotel. Ellis had been a news anchor at WHDH-TV in Boston, working weekend newcasts, and “Urban Update,” WHDH-TV’s weekly half-hour news broadcast since 1990. Ms. Ellis has worked as an NBC News correspondent based in New York since 1993. When asked what her Simmons education has done for her, Ellis responded, “We were taught that we didn’t need to look to a man for the answers. We could be women empowered, courageous and determined not to take no for an answer.”

Gina Patterson, Class of 2006 remarked what the symposium meant to her as a current Simmons student. “This weekend has given me a chance to connect and network with alums. It gives me hope of what I can become. It’s been a great experience.” Sonia Carter ’87 a nutritionist at ABCD Headstart remarked how she benefited from the symposium as well. “Every workshop has been for my own professional development. I’ve benefited from the connection and networking with the alumnae.”

At the conclusion of the symposium Ellis proudly announced the legacy that the college’s black community left at the culmination of the weekend. During the course of the day the nearly 300 alumnae and guests spontaneously raised over $50,000 for the Black Alumnae/i Symposium 2005 Legacy Scholarship.

 

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