PRESIDENT WILLIAM J. HOLMES MEETS WITH STUDENTS

During the 1970's, Simmons College’s Main College Building underwent a much-needed, imaginative overhaul, including a new dining center, a third floor gymnasium and the introduction of new computer technology. Under the impact of societal change and the visionary action of black students in the late sixties, the College added African American Studies. Influenced by this development, Women’s Studies courses were soon introduced. Becoming proactive in the quest for diversity, the College experienced demonstrative growth in the number of faculty and staff of color. Also, the 1970s registered the largest enrollment of black students in the College’s history, graduating 294 from 1971 to 1980.

In 1989, the Simmons College Sports Center became a reality – reflecting the stunning growth of women’s undergraduate athletics under Title IX of the Educational Amendments of 1972. That was a capstone of growth in the 1980s that also saw the creation of the Graduate School of Library Science (1980), the Graduate School for Health Studies (1989), the endowed Warburg Chair in International Relations (1983), establishment of the first Microcomputer Lab (1984) culminating with an all-college high speed network that came online in 1988. Throughout the 1980s, African Americans participated in the life of the College as Trustees, Corporation members, honorary degree recipients, commencement speakers, staff members and faculty. From 1981 to 1990, 144 black students graduated from the College marking a decline from the 1970s.

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