Brunonians' affection for - if not obsession with - President Ruth Simmons is no secret. But Simmons may not be as fond of her own popularity.
"The moment I realized I was in trouble was when I was inaugurated," she told The Herald in a March 21 interview. "The life-size cutout of me students made so they could take pictures with it was one of the most embarrassing moments of my life."
Despite their fascination with their president, many students know little of Simmons' daily routines and duties. This may be because there is no typical day in the life of the president, and her activities lack a distinct pattern. "It differs everyday," she said. "If I gave you something like a typical day, it would be false."
As the boundaries of her own job are frequently muddled, Simmons must negotiate the ever-changing role of the contemporary university president.
"The way that I think of it actually is quite simple: I look forward to retirement," she joked.
The public nature of her job keeps her from seemingly mundane endeavors. "There aren't places in Providence that I can go where people don't see me as being on the job," she said. "I can't go to Johnny Rockets for a hamburger because people come up to me, and they want to take a picture of me eating a hamburger."
It's not just students who might approach her for a picture - many others in the University community share this fascination.
"The faculty never feel that they know you well enough, because of course people want to invite you over for dinner and they want to be able to say, 'Oh yes, I know Ruth, we hang out together,'" Simmons said. "And the kids want to be able to say, 'Oh yeah, I dropped by Ruth's, we went out for a beer.'"
Some students even have the gall to ask, Simmons to go "pub crawling."
But does Simmons find time in her busy schedule for this and other social engagements? "Yes, I do. But it's never enough, frankly."
Instead, Simmons spends much of her time in ceremonial duties as the public face of Brown. Beyond that, she must also ensure that the University operates effectively on a daily basis.
"In that capacity I do the things that people would expect one to do," she said of managing the University. "I meet with senior officers to make sure that our efforts are coordinated across the University, I write letters, I call disgruntled people to make them feel better. I meet with donors here on campus. I meet with visitors, who believe, because of their stature, they have to meet with the president on campus."
These tasks require significant travel, but even this is not consistent. The president said she still spends most of her time on College Hill.
Fundraising and the current Campaign for Academic Enrichment are fundamental reasons for her travel. The Office of Advancement often fills up Simmons' calendar with fundraising events a year in advance, she said.
Beyond the University's immediate priorities, Simmons must also represent Brown in matters of public affairs. There is some question within the Brown Corporation as to whether Simmons should play a prominent role in the public arena, she said. "I'd love it if the answer came back 'no' because it's not my favorite role, let me put it that way. But, some people feel pretty strongly that I have to do that."
This year she gave a presidential lecture at Columbia University, spoke at the Colony Club in New York and to the National Association of Independent Schools in Boston, among other organizations that are not Brown-affiliated, she said. Media interviews, she said, also figure into this public role.
Academic organizations and leagues the University belongs to, including the Association of American Universities and the Ivy League, also factor into Simmons' position, "mostly because Brown thinks it's good for Brown if I do," she said. "The Corporation has a committee that makes decisions about my involvements, believe it or not."
But while public appearances and ceremonies might sound glamorous, Simmons said the realities of her job can be harsh. "The reality of leadership is that you have to fire people, you have to ask people to do their jobs properly, you have to say to people 'this is not the right way,'" she said.
To cope with the psychological stress that these activities can create, she must find little moments for herself, she said, even within a tremendously busy schedule.
"So, if I have to go to New York, I might add a half day to be able to see friends," she said.
Nevertheless, her busy schedule has taken its toll on several close personal relationships.
"Most of my friends are angry with me, actually," she said. "Most of them are not speaking to me because I don't have any time for them. And they call to say 'you never call. Why is it that you never call?'"
Though socially disconnected, she has resigned herself to the demands of the job, which she described as "all-consuming."
"It is all-consuming in the sense that you work every day of the week and you work every evening of the week. I do get to sleep, OK. But, most jobs are defined in a way so that people can go home. And when they go home, they're off. I don't ever go home. So that makes it a little odd," Simmons said.
Because she does not return "home" regularly, when off the job, Simmons enjoys activities other people might find utterly commonplace.
"I like to go to a drugstore and shop or go to a grocery store and shop. Or go to museums and wander around for hours without anybody telling me I have to go do something else," she said. "It's all the little things that people do every day that are routine for them. When I have free time that's what I want to do," she said.
But Simmons said, most of all, she loves driving cars. "I get so excited about driving a car. If I have to go somewhere for University business, I get driven. When I do my personal things I get to drive. But I don't have personal things. So on occasion, I get to take my laundry, but that's what - a few blocks?"
She noted, though, that last year she indulged this pleasure by driving all the way to Texas.
"When I told people I was going to drive all the way to Texas, they thought I was nuts. But I drove all the way to Texas. I didn't get a ticket. I stayed on the road, I stayed in the lanes. I obeyed traffic rules," she said.
Though she enjoys being behind the wheel, Simmons does not enjoy traveling as a whole for University-related business. "It's odd to have a job where you have to travel a lot when you absolutely hate it," she said.
Simmons said she rarely flies luxuriously. "I do not fly first class. So I'm back in steerage in row 24 - 24 F - and it's sometimes very funny because I get on a plane, I walk past faculty in first class because they've upgraded with their miles and I'm in the back of the plane," Simmons said.
Such efficiency and a personal touch seep into other facets of her job. Despite what some may think, Simmons responds to all her e-mail - personally. "First of all, it comes directly to me. Nobody else reads it," she said.
But not all official speeches and letters are penned by Simmons' own hand.
"Most of the things that have to do with my deeply held views, I write personally," she said. "If I have to do something ceremonial, it's often written by somebody else."
And, so how many more Convocation speeches will she give? "I can't say to you, 'oh I think I will be at Brown until X date' because the Corporation has not given me permission to be here for that. I'm here as long as the Corporation permits me to be here."
And she joked, "My goal is to beat the Corporation to the punch and to go before they tell me they're fed up with me."
When will that be? "I am my worst critic. Therefore when I don't feel I'm doing a good job, then I'll say it's time to go."
