President of Hampshire College Adele S. Simmons '63 will become president of the MacArthur Foundation, a $2 billion private organization which grants money to people involved in educational pursuits, foundation officials said.

Simmons, who has served as a dean at Tufts University and Princeton University before filling her present position at Hampshire 11 years ago, was confirmed unanimously earlier this week by the foundation's board of trustees.

Simmons is only the second president of the MacArthur Foundation. She follows John E. Corbally, who has led the Chicago-based foundation since its establishment in 1978 and who will remain on the foundation's board.

"I will learn a great deal and will be faced with the opportunity to be involved with major public and social policy questions," Simmons said. "I now have the chance to become more directly involved in the issues of our time."

The MacArthur Foundation has granted $550 million over the past decade to worthy scholars in a variety of fields related to education. According to a spokesperson, grants are awarded to 35 to 75 people anually, ranging in age from 20 to 70.

One of the better known grants the foundation makes is the MacArthur Fellows Program awards, called "genius grants," which are unrestricted fellowships worth up to $250,000 given to talented individuals who "exhibit originality and dedication to creative pursuits in any field," the spokesperson said.

Simmons said she has a lot to learn about the foundation. "I plan to spend the next 18 months talking with the staff and trustees to get a sense of where the foundation should be moving," she said.

"I will incorporate my experience with that of the staff and trustees," Simmons said. "This is a collaborative effort, an environment in which all strengths will be drawn upon."

Simmons said that her experiences at Hampshire College have taught her much about education. "[Hampshire's] stress on creativity and its multi-disciplinary approach to education overlaps the interests of the MacArthur Foundation," Simmons said. "This change provides me with a wonderful opportunity--it is an outgrowth of my career at Hampshire."