Her name is Ruth Simmons. Read about it in the Brown Daily Herald. This is great news.
vix '95
“Brown? Otto, weren’t you at Brown?”
“Yeah! Almost made tenure, too!”
Not a Brownie myself, but I live in RI (hi, Vix!) and am glad to see Brown getting it’s first woman president.
Whew–I barely made it out of Brown and am never going back! 
Flame against my alma mater aside, I think Ruth Simmons is a really fantastic lady. However, Brown needs someone who can bring in the cash, since we’re always broke, and I’m not sure if Simmons is the woman to do that. That being said, I enthusastically look forward to how she’ll do–I hope she proves me wrong!
So when did you graduate, Vix?
Akash
Ruth Simmons is an absolutely amazing woman. The Smith campus may as well be draped in black crepe on hearing the news. She is well-loved here, and will be sorely missed, but she will definitely be an enormous asset to Brown.
And as far as fundraising goes, she managed to double Smith’s endowment in the 5 years she’s been here, so not to worry on that issue.
Akash: I’m sorry to hear that you didn’t enjoy your years at Brown. Regarding fundraising, I think Geobabe answered your question.
Also, here’s a quote from this article in the New York Times.
BTW, I was in the class of '95.
(Hi Rasa!)
I went to Smith (where Ruth is currently president). As far as I experienced and recall she was a wonderful asset to the school. She is also a very powerful speaker. Brown should be very excited to have her…but now I wonder who Smith is going to end up with.