Simmons College Joins Mount Holyoke and Smith for Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars Program Focused on Emerging Women Leaders

BOSTON, Jan. 29, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Simmons College is proud to join two other women's colleges – Mount Holyoke and Smith – to co-host "Reconstructing Societies in the Wake of Conflict: Transitional Justice and Economic Development," a two-week Institute in partnership with the prestigious Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. 

Video is available at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HkjsxiwTeZk.

The Institute will be held from May 25 to June 6 with consecutive sessions at all three college campuses. The Institute will bring together emerging women leaders from post-conflict societies who are working to rebuild their communities and promote sustainable economic livelihoods following political violence and human rights violations. The participants will be from Asia, Africa, and South America. You can follow the Institute live on Twitter at #WPSP.

The Institute is part of the Women in Public Service Project (WPSP) founded in 2011 by former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton at the U.S. Department of State in collaboration with Barnard, Bryn Mawr, Mount Holyoke, Smith, and Wellesley colleges. The partnership has grown to include Simmons, Scripps, Mount St. Mary's, Mills, and Stephens colleges; the City College of New York; the College of Saint Benedict; and the University of Chicago, Institute of Politics. It also includes a public university consortium led by the University of Massachusetts, Lowell. 

WPSP is focused primarily on training early- to mid-career women from around the world to advance their careers in government and public service as they move their communities and countries forward politically, economically, and socially. The central mission of WPSP is to foster a world in which leadership in political and public office is 50 percent female by 2050.

The Institute will provide the emerging women leaders selected for participation with the concrete tools and training necessary to increase the scope, efficacy, and visibility of their work. Invited scholars, policymakers, and government and non-government representatives – including several Mount Holyoke, Simmons, and Smith alumnae – will aid delegates in expanding their leadership and communication skills, developing effective use of traditional and social media, and improving their ability to build national, regional, and international networks. More information on the Institute is available at www.smith.edu/wpsp.

Founded in 1899, Simmons College (simmons.edu) is a nationally recognized university located in Boston with a history of visionary thinking and social responsibility. It offers undergraduate education for women and the nation's first MBA program designed specifically for women. It also features renowned coeducational graduate programs in nursing and health sciences; liberal arts, including education and behavior analysis; library and information science; social work; and business. Follow us on Twitter at @SimmonsCollege and @SimmonsNews.

SOURCE Simmons College