Simmons Adds Chief Development Officer & Chief Marketing Officer

Boston, Mass. (October 26, 2021) – Simmons University today announced the selection of two new leaders who will join the institution’s senior leadership team. bec rollins, an accomplished visual journalist and veteran communications professional, will serve as Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) and Vice President of Marketing and Communications. Beth Kramer, a strategic fundraising executive with more than 25 years of development experience at leading Boston-area institutions, will serve as Chief Development Officer (CDO) and Vice President of Advancement.

rollins has significant experience leading major organizational communications efforts in the fields of higher education and global health. Most recently she served as the Chief Global Communications Officer at Pathfinder International. Prior to that, rollins was Vice President of Communications and Marketing at the Appalachian Mountain Club and Chief Communications Officer for Partners in Health. She also spent more than a decade with Harvard University, where she served as senior multimedia producer and associate news director.

As CMO of Simmons, rollins will lead the University’s Marketing and Communications team and build a distinctive brand platform that effectively communicates Simmons’ mission of empowering and educating the next generation of leaders. In addition, rollins will work closely with stakeholders across the institution to elevate the University’s profile with key audiences regionally and nationally.

“bec has a keen understanding of the vital role a women’s centered education plays in empowering students to lead in their professional, personal, and civic lives,” said Lynn Perry Wooten, president of Simmons University. “Her strategic and innovative approach to marketing and communications will be a tremendous asset to our University, and I am so excited to welcome her to our community.”

rollins currently resides in Boston, and she is a graduate of Smith College.

Simmons is also welcoming veteran development leader Beth Kramer as Vice President of Advancement. Kramer, who has led capital campaigns and secured high profile gifts to endow fellowships, transform academic spaces, and build research centers, most recently served as the Vice President for Advancement at Olin College of Engineering. Prior to that, Kramer was the Associate Dean for Development and Alumni Relations at Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design.

As CDO of Simmons, Kramer will oversee the Advancement team and build a comprehensive advancement program that effectively engages alumnae/i and identifies and inspires donors at all levels to invest in the University.

“Beth has a tremendous passion for higher education, and she understands the vital role that a strong advancement program plays in helping universities engage key audiences and achieve their strategic priorities,” Wooten said. “She is adept at engaging and motivating stakeholders to invest in organizational missions, and I am so thrilled to welcome her to the team.”

Kramer currently resides in Needham, MA, and is a graduate of Ohio Northern University.

About Simmons University

Located in the heart of Boston, Simmons is a respected private university offering more than 50 majors and programs for undergraduate women and graduate programs open to all on campus, in blended formats, or entirely online in nursing and health sciences, liberal arts, business, communications, social work, public health, and library and information science. Founded in 1899, Simmons has established a model of higher education that other colleges and universities are only recently beginning to adapt: the combination of education for leadership in high-demand professional fields with the intellectual foundation of the liberal arts. The result is a Simmons graduate prepared not only to work, but to lead in professional, civic, and personal life — a vision of empowerment that Simmons calls preparation for life’s work. Follow Simmons on Twitter at @SimmonsUniv, and on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/school/simmons-university/.

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