N.C. A&T Alumni Times

N.C. A&T Alumna Becomes the First African American President of Simmons University

Dr. Lynn Perry Wooten ’88 has always set her sights on achieving excellence, especially while pursuing her career in higher education. When she graduated from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, she was at the top of her class with honors and secured the role of valedictorian on graduation day.

On Feb. 6, she added another leadership role to her resume: she was appointed to serve as Simmons University’s ninth president. Her role is effective July 1, 2020.

Based in Boston, Simmons University offers the only undergraduate program for women in the city and numerous nationally recognized graduate programs open to all. The university was founded in 1899 and is a private institution that focuses on liberal arts as its foundation.

“It is an honor to accept the role of Simmons’ president and I love the fact that I am able to serve a new university and community,” said Wooten. “I am a lifelong, life-wide learner and this new task in my life is an exciting journey to undertake.”

Wooten’s appointment is the result of a comprehensive search process that was driven by the nationally-respected search firm Isaacson, Miller and a 19-member search committee representing a cross-section of the Simmons community, with student, faculty, administration, alumnae/i, board members and the community participating. After interviewing a number of semifinalists and finalists, the search committee unanimously recommended Wooten to the Board of Trustees, which voted unanimously to select her as the institution’s ninth president.

“I have always had a love for higher education because it is a pathway to having a thriving life,” said Wooten. “Our universities help people transcend from adolescents to adulthood.”

Wooten currently serves as the David J. Nolan Dean and Professor of Management and Organizations at Cornell University’s Charles H. Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management. Prior to her position at Cornell, she served on the faculty at the University of Michigan for nearly two decades, where she was Senior Associate Dean for Student and Academic Excellence and Clinical Professor of Strategy, Management & Organizations at the Ross School of Business.

“When I was a teenager growing up in Philadelphia, A&T was not on my radar until I was recruited by Dean Quiester Craig and he offered me a scholarship. Since starting my journey on the campus in 1984, A&T has been my biggest supporter and it is a community that believes in excellence,” she said. “This university has prepared me greatly for my career and Dean Craig was instrumental in guiding me to study at the University of Michigan for my Ph.D.”

Wooten’s expertise lies in crisis leadership, positive organizing routines, strategic human resource management, workforce diversity and competitive advantage, and development of emerging leaders. She has been a prolific author of journal articles and has published two books – Positive Organizing in a Global Society: Understanding and Engaging Differences for Capacity Building and Inclusion (2015), and Leading Under Pressure: From Surviving to Thriving Before, During, and After a Crisis (2010).

Wooten received her undergraduate degree in accounting from A&T, her MBA from the Fuqua School of Business at Duke University in 1990, and her doctorate in business administration from the University of Michigan's Ross School of Business in 1995. She is an active member of a number of national volunteer leadership organizations, including Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Jack & Jill of America, Junior League and The Links Inc. In addition, she serves as an advisory board member for the Aspen Institute’s Business and Society Program and is a board member for the Center for Effective Philanthropy and University of Michigan Alumni Association.

She is married to David Wooten, a chaired marketing professor at the University of Michigan's Ross School of Business, and they have two children, Justin and Jada.