PRAIRIE VIEW, Texas (March 2, 2023) – Prairie View A&M University faculty, staff, students and the Marching Storm band welcomed a team of Harvard University officials, including President Lawrence S. Bacow and his wife, Adele, on Feb. 27.
The Harvard team spent the day with Former President Ruth J. Simmons, joining her for the final Conversation in her series with President Bacow.
During the event, Simmons presented Bacow with the Presidential Medal for his leadership in higher education and for “telling the truth about the legacy of slavery at Harvard,” she said.
Bacow also named Simmons, a Harvard alumna, senior adviser to the president of Harvard University on engagement with Historically Black Colleges and Universities.
In the role, which begins this June, Simmons will “advise on efforts to support the recommendations of the Presidential Committee on Harvard & the Legacy of Slavery. Her work will focus on engaging in meaningful and enduring partnerships with the nation’s HBCUs, as laid out in Recommendation 3 of the report,” said Harvard in a statement.
“I applaud President Bacow’s vision and Harvard’s hopes for a more inclusive future for higher education,” Simmons said. “From his courageous defense of the importance of diversity on our campuses to his support for the work of the Harvard & the Legacy of Slavery initiative, he has led with great wisdom and integrity. I am proud to work alongside Harvard to shape a new vision for higher education, one which acknowledges the need for institutions with different histories and missions to share expertise and productively collaborate in the interests of a more equitable society. Harvard’s recognition that HBCUs have much to contribute is a welcome and timely message.”
Click here to read more about Monday’s events via The Harvard Gazette.
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