IvyGate Presidential Fame Caucus: Ruth Simmons

This is the fifth installment of a series studying the persona of each Ivy League president—their bank accounts, their haircuts, and the extent to which they’re known and loved. I’ll be covering each president one by one, in order of who gets the most green for tending to the Ivy. Here’s Brown President Ruth Simmons—part time T.V. star, full time woman.

Ruth Simmons is a whole lotta woman.

For one thing, she used to be the president of Smith College, which is woman central in more ways than one. After having been named Newsweek’s “Ms. Woman of the Year” and Time’s best college president in America, the size of her stardom can easily be classified as double-D. I mean, this glamorous lady is BFF-status with India.Arie, with whom she shares the quality of not being the average girl from your video.

Simmons appeared with Arie at this year’s BET Honors—“looking absolutely radiant in a stunning and sexy black dress (64 and sexy? You show ‘em, Ruth!)”—and elbow rubbing with P. Diddy, Queen Latifah, and Whitney Houston. She also picked up an award for her achievements as an educator, including becoming the first African-American president of an Ivy League School.

But by no means is that the first time she’s been on T.V. She channel changes from CNN to the Tavis Smiley Show. And Brown students stay tuned in. As the Brown Herald reported:

“She is famous—you can see her on TV. I am proud…”

Indeed, Simmons has garnered the overwhelming affection of Brown’s students, who describe her as “a power woman,” “the greatest person in the world,” and “reminds me of my grandma.”

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Following the Leaders: Presidents of Brown and Princeton Better than Actual President

Following the Leaders: Presidents of Brown and Princeton Better than Actual PresidentA sad day for journalism when Glamour scoops US News & World Report on the upper education beat, but it happened this month when the former jumped on the “Every crowd around the pretty lady presidents!” bandwagon first. Yesterday’s release of US News‘ “America’s Best Leaders“  echoes Glamour’s 2007 “Women of the Year” featuring Prezettes Ruth Simmons (Brown) and Shirley Tilghman (Princeton). In USN Simmons and Tilghman sit among notable peoples like Nancy Pelosi, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Nicholas Kristof and Yo-Yo Ma.

Conspicuously missing from the list are fellow “Women of the Year” Drew Gilpin Faust (president, Harvard) and Amy Gutmann (Fairy Jihad-Mother, Penn), whose mere existence as double-X-chromosomed heads of Ivies is usually reason enough to split Simmons’ and Tilghman’s glory four ways.

Because Nothing Says ‘Glamour’ Like Fairy Jihad-Mother

Because Nothing Says 'Glamour' Like Fairy Jihad-MotherWe’re already salivating for the December issue of Glamour magazine, featuring all four female Ivy League presidents as 2007 Women of the Year.

Prince and DP reports confirm that The Prezettes — Princeton’s Shirley Tilghman, Brown’s Ruth Simmons, Harvard’s Drew Gilpin Faust, and Penn’s Halloween- and maybe-Jihad-loving Amy Gutmann — will appear in glossy photos alongside the likes of Jennifer Garner, Elizabeth Edwards, and child actress Abigail Breslin. Gutmann has already begun denying the fact that she’s totally pumped to get airbrushed:

Though Gutmann doesn’t “have much time to read magazines like Glamour,” she said she is pleased that the magazine will use the Fund to raise money for charities that support causes for women.

Whatevs, Amy, we know you’re excited to get a professional blow-out and glossy photos, and for little girls the world around to cut out your picture and decorate their notebooks with it. For those who can’t wait to see if the Gutbomb reprises her strapless red Homecoming dress, fear not! IvyGate will be there for you on November 13 when Women of the Year hits newsstands.