Ruth Simmons reappointed to Dallas Fed's Houston Branch board

DALLAS—Ruth J. Simmons has been reappointed to the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas’ Houston Branch board by the Federal Reserve Board of Governors in Washington, D.C. She will serve a three-year term ending Dec. 31, 2026.

She joined the Houston Branch board in 2020.

In her role as a board member, Simmons provides insight into the region’s economy in support of the Federal Reserve's monetary policy function.

Simmons currently is a Distinguished Presidential Fellow at Rice University and advisor to Harvard University on relationships with historically black colleges and universities.

She is former president of Prairie View A&M University. She also served as president of Brown University and Smith College.

Simmons served in various faculty and administrative roles at the University of Southern California, Princeton University and Spelman College.

She is a member of many nonprofit boards, including the Smithsonian National Museum of African-American History and Culture, and The Holdsworth Center.

Simmons is the recipient of many honors, including a Fulbright Fellowship to France, 2001 President’s Award from the United Negro College Fund, 2002 Fulbright Lifetime Achievement Medal, 2004 Eleanor Roosevelt Val-Kill Medal, Foreign Policy Association Medal, Ellis Island Medal of Honor and Centennial Medal from Harvard University.

She is a fellow of the American Philosophical Society and American Academy of Arts and Sciences. She also is an honorary fellow at Cambridge University’s Selwyn College and a Chevalier of the French Legion of Honor.

Simmons has received more than 40 honorary degrees from universities around the world, including Oxford University, Ewha Women’s University in South Korea and The American College in Greece.

Simmons earned a BA in French from Dillard University, and an MA and PhD in Romance languages and literature from Harvard University.

The Houston Branch board consists of seven members, four appointed by the Dallas Fed and three by the Federal Reserve Board of Governors.

For more information on the Dallas Fed, visit www.dallasfed.org.

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Media contact:
James Hoard
Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas
Phone: 214-922-5307
Email: james.hoard@dal.frb.org