After five years, Dr. Ruth Simmons is stepping down as president of Prairie View A&M University.

According to KTRK-TV, Simmons, who joined the HBCU in 2017, said in a statement: “Be assured that while I will step down from the presidency, my work for Prairie View A&M will not cease. Many supporters from around the country have initiated programs and offered support to the University, and I must assure them not only of my unwavering gratitude but also of my continued dedication to fulfilling the promises made to them when they elected to partner with and support the University.”

Simmons is a Texas native and a 1967 graduate of Dillard University in New Orleans.  Her career as an educator started as an assistant dean of graduate studies at the University of Southern California in 1979. Simmons then became a dean at Princeton University in 1983 and stayed there until 1990. In 1995, she became the president of Smith College until her time at Brown.

In 2001, Dr. Simmons made history when she became the 18th president at Brown University. She was the first Black president of an Ivy League institution. At Brown, she completed an initiative called Boldly Brown: The Campaign for Academic Enrichment. The $1.4 billion initiative was designed to boost the university’s academic programs.

At the end of the 2011-2012 academic year, Simmons stepped down from her position as Brown’s president but remained with the institution for many years as an African Studies and Comparative Literature professor.

In 2009, Simmons was appointed by President Obama to the President’s Commission on White House Fellowships. In 2010, she received a BET Honors award for her contributions to education.