Hampshire Chooses Woman President To Head College

Adele Smith Simmons '36, dean of student affairs at Princeton University, has been named the first woman president of Hampshire College in Amherst, Massachusetts.

Simmons, the first woman dean at Princeton, is a member of the Board of Overseers at Harvard.

She said yesterday she is "excited about the academic opportunities available at Hampshire," and that she intends to spend time listening to student and faculty before any specific goals are formulated for her administration.

Elsa Navarro, a member of the Minority Student Life Committee at Princeton, said yesterday that minority students at Princeton have looked unfavorably at Simmons, believing that a number of campus regulations were enforced selectively by the office of student affairs.

Navarro said although she believes Simmons sincerely has the interest of students at heart, her efforts are often ineffective due to the restraints of administrative bureaucracy.

Penina Glazer, dean of faculty at Hampshire, said yesterday she had witnessed unanimous enthusiasm among both students and faculty for Simmons' appointment.

Describing Hampshire as a very student centered organization, she said Simmons was a person "committed to the educational departures which Hampshire has made."