Simmons University Selects New Dean of The Gwen Ifill School

Boston, Mass. (September 4, 2024) – Simmons University announced that it has selected Dr. Ammina Kothari, an administrator, faculty member, and researcher, to serve as the new dean of The Gwen Ifill School of Media, Humanities, and Social Sciences. The Ifill School is named in honor of trailblazing Black woman journalist and distinguished Simmons alumna Gwen Ifill, a member of the class of 1977.

As dean, Dr. Kothari will play a pivotal role in the leadership of the Ifill School, a vital part of Simmons’ new, forward-looking academic structure that is designed to accelerate student pathways and growth in meaningful careers. Dr. Kothari’s background in media and communications includes extensive academic leadership and research experience – particularly as it relates to AI and implications for journalism. She is adept at developing and implementing cutting-edge undergraduate curriculum and accelerated graduate programs and building industry partnerships. In 2023, Dr. Kothari was inducted into the Phi Kappa Phi honors society and was a Scripps Howard Leadership Academy Fellow.

“The Ifill School, which honors the legacy of distinguished journalist Gwen Ifill and her work of fostering civic dialogue and an informed, diverse citizenry, has a crucial role to play in today’s world,” said Simmons University President Lynn Perry Wooten. “We are thrilled to welcome Dr. Kothari to our community and are looking forward to working with her as she advances the mission of the Ifill School, which asks students to consider how they will do the hard work of creating a more just world.”

Dr. Kothari has served as Director of the Harrington School of Communication and Media at the University of Rhode Island since 2021, where she worked with local media partners to establish a scholarship for film production and internship opportunities for students. Under her leadership, the school established the Social Media Research Lab, which allows students to work with industry partners to apply their classroom knowledge to real-world scenarios. She also worked with faculty in the College of Arts and Science to establish a Rhode Island survey initiative to gather insights from residents about issues important to the state through an annual opinion poll. She impressed the search committee with her leadership experience both at URI and earlier at the Rochester Institute of Technology. At RIT, she was a program director at both the graduate and undergraduate levels. She has demonstrated an active commitment to interdisciplinarity, collaboration, and inclusive learning. In 2021, she was selected as one of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication Institute for Diverse Leadership Fellows and received the Eisenhart Award for Outstanding Teaching, RIT's highest honor for tenured faculty.

“I am excited to join the Simmons community and to have the opportunity to develop and advance undergraduate and graduate programming that will allow our students to thrive,” said Dr. Kothari. “During this period of rapid disruption in media and communication, students must be able to think critically, work in an interdisciplinary fashion, and engage in research and experiential learning opportunities. Gwen Ifill leaves a transformational legacy, and I am looking forward to working collaboratively with faculty to shape a vibrant future for the Ifill School as a communication and liberal arts leader in higher education.”

Dr. Kothari’s scholarship has a global reach and includes research on timely issues, including artificial intelligence and its implications for journalism and communication, social media and its impact on mental health, and issues affecting minority communities in the U.S and around the world. She holds a Ph.D. in mass communication, a master’s degree in communication and society, and a bachelor’s degree in English and print journalism.

About Simmons University

Located in the heart of Boston, Simmons is a respected private university offering nearly 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 at www.simmons.edu and on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/school/simmons-university/.

###