The Mae Belle Williamson Simmons Diversity Fellowships honor the legacy of a trailblazing Providence native whose lasting impact on the field of child psychology belied a life and career that were cut short.

After a collaborative research effort led in large part by recent Ph.D. graduate N’Kosi Oates, the Graduate School at Brown University has renamed its diversity fellowships in honor of Mae Belle Williamson Simmons, who earned her Ph.D. in psychology from Brown in 1962 — the earliest known Black woman to earn her doctoral degree from the University. Alycia Mosley Austin, associate dean of diversity and inclusion at the Graduate School, said the renaming will bring the late Williamson Simmons into the annals of University history, highlight her impact and bring further visibility to the diversity fellowships program, founded in 2017. Read more.

All are welcome to particiate in the Graduate School's 14th annual Food Drive to benefit the Rhode Island Community Food Bank. We are collecting food from November 1-21, 2022. Please drop off needed canned goods (see list), in the Food Bank boxes to Horace Mann, at 47 George St (boxes in the lobby & 3rd floor) or the Arnold Lab. Be sure to check the expiration date.

As Professor of Religious Studies Thomas A. Lewis settles into a new role as interim dean of Brown University’s Graduate School for the 2022-23 academic year, he said he’s ready to embrace a “whole school” approach to enhance the excellence of graduate education at Brown.

“So much of the conversation around graduate education rightly centers on individual graduate programs, but I think we’re increasingly recognizing the importance of what happens between and around those programs,” Lewis said. Read more.