With over 25 years of experience within higher education as a professor, administrator, and dean at multiple institutions, Dr. Roberto Ifill is bringing his experience to the Simmons Board of Trustees. His appointment was announced February 9.

Serving on the Dean’s Advisory Council of the Gwen Ifill College of Media, Arts, and Humanities since 2019, Dr. Ifill plans to continue his commitment of upholding the legacy of his late sister, distinguished alumna Gwen Ifill, throughout the University. 

His goals also include holding the institution to its mission and moving Simmons forward in its plans for the future.

“[Gwen’s] legacy was really one about leadership, about compassion, about bringing people up, and as well as along, and seems very much congruent with the mission of Simmons University itself, right from the very founding,” said Dr. Ifill.

Noting the “power” of a liberal arts education inside and outside of the classroom, and his experience working directly with students as a teacher, administrator, and most recently, Dean of Students at a small institution, Dr. Ifill said he is “concerned about the whole student.”

“I see myself as a trustee as being a sounding board, frankly, not trying to manage anything, because I’m not on campus,” said Dr. Ifill. “So all I can do is provide some advice, and maybe some perspective that people who have the nose to the grindstone may not always have.”

As a member of the board of trustees, Ifill will serve on the finance committee, academic excellence committee, and the newly formed student experience committee. Dr. Ifill said he sees himself while still “maintaining [his] proper role” as a bridge between the administration and students/faculty/staff.

“So I hope that I and other trustees will have the chance to actually have these kinds of conversations and just again, as people to people, because I found myself admiring Simmons students quite a bit, I could see potential, and what you’re likely to be as you get out in the world, and I found that inspiriting.”

To hear an audio version of this piece, go to 5:45 in this episode of the Welcome Home podcast.