PRAIRIE VIEW, Texas – Dr. Ruth J. Simmons took the mantle this weekend as the first woman and eighth president of Prairie View A&M University, marking the special occasion with the creation of a $100,000 scholarship to honor her parents.
The Fannie and Isaac Stubblefield Endowed Scholarship will be matched by an additional $100,000 from the Texas A&M University System and its Chancellor John Sharp.
“How could I turn away from doing for other young people what was done for me?” Simmons asked during her inaugural address, reminiscing about her journey from her days as an undergraduate student at Dillard University to earning a doctorate from Harvard. Along the way, she said she encountered “teachers who cared enough to help a poor student.”
“Poverty is not the state of one’s mind, it is the condition of one’s purse,” she told the hundreds in attendance during the outdoor ceremony under overcast skies on a cool, windy spring day. “My mother and father lived most of their lives at the poverty level, raised 12 children to adulthood. They taught us how to live with dignity and purpose, insistent on us showing the basic respect that they were never afforded. This $200,000 will be the beginning of my commitment to give as much as I can to ensure that our students have the support they need to complete their studies.”
Simmons also announced a $20,000 fund to support four student scholarships annually.
“When we first found out Prairie View was in need of a new leader, we knew Dr. Simmons was retired, we knew she was living in Houston and we knew it was a long shot,” Sharp said. “She and I had a meeting and as I sat there listening to her talk about Prairie View and the impact an education from Prairie View had on her own brother, I saw her love for the university. Watching her accept this challenge was the most exciting moment of my career.”
He added: “I guarantee you that you will not find a president who is more dedicated to the students than Ruth is. In every conversation we’ve had, the students have been her main concern. It’s no wonder they call her ‘Ruth the Truth.’”
