About
Simmons Hall
Simmons Hall is an MIT Undergraduate Residence Hall. It is home to 340 undergraduates, 10 graduate students, 2 MIT professors and their families, and 5 Resident Scholars who are visiting MIT for the academic year.
During Construction
Simmons Hall was opened to the MIT community in 2002. Designed by Steven Holl, it has won multiple awards for its unique architectural features.
Dining
There are 6 dining halls on the MIT campus. Simmons Hall has the best, open 7 days a week for breakfast (brunch on weekends) and dinner. We have a smaller dining facility with personable staff that we love.
Gym
A well equipped, two story, gym with a phenomenal view of the Boston skyline. Use the elliptical, treadmill, free weights, yoga station, indoor rower, or the massive two story LED display built by residents.
Ball Pit
Multi-Purpose Room
Simmons Hall houses a giant two story Multi-Purpose Room (MPR), which has seating for over 200 people and is equipped with a 12 foot projection screen, surround sound system, Blu-Ray player, and DIRECTV.
Lounges
Simmons has community lounges for studying and play. All lounges are equipped with 42” LCD TVs, Rokus, and PS3s. During the week residents use them late into the night to work on problem sets, and on weekends they turn into rooms for movies and games.
Rooms
Simmons Hall consists of triples, doubles, and singles located throughout the building's ten floors and three towers. Three residents generally share a bathroom.
Laundry
Simmons has laundry rooms on almost every floor. Each laundry room has two washers and two dryers.
Simmons Government
Simmons has its own unique government structure. From our student led initiatives to our unique social "lounge" structure to our open house meetings and proposals, we have so much to get involved with.
Contact the Simmons officers at simmons-officers@mit.edu.
Heads Of House
The Head of House team consists of:
- David Perreault, Joseph F. and Nancy P. Keithley Professor in Electrical Engineering & Computer Science
- Heidi Nakajima, associate professor in Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery at Harvard Medical School
- Bryan Bryson, Assistant Professor of Biological Engineering
- Kevin Leiby, a management consultant focused on economic development.
The Head of House manage and maintain engagement to connect students, GRAs, MIT faculty, and other community members. They provide academic and personal guidance to students to help them get the most out of their time at MIT. The Heads of House also manage the Residential Scholars Program at Simmons Hall.
Graduate Resident Advisors (GRAs)
The Graduate Resident Advisor (GRA) is a live-in graduate student role designed to support and enhance the living experience for undergraduates at MIT. A GRA works to foster a supportive, safe, and positive living and learning environment for all residential students. GRAs are mentors and educators who encourage personal growth, provide outlets for managing stress, and facilitate positive interpersonal relationships. GRAs are responsible for fostering an inclusive community built upon shared community standards and mutual respect.
Area Director (AD)
Amanda Putnam is the AD assigned to Simmons Hall. She is responsible for providing educational programming, facilitating event planning, and working with the Simmons Government to promote leadership.
House Manager
João "Bosco" Da Silva is the Simmons House Manager. The house manager is responsible for the operational aspects of the building. He oversees front desk operations as well as custodial and maintenance staff. His goal is to make Simmons a safe, secure, and pleasant place to live.
Nika loves to see and meet students! Her office is in the mailbox lounge, and is almost always open.
Residential Scholars Program
Inspired by the Report of the MIT Taskforce on Student Life and Learing, The Founders Group of Simmons Hall envisioned a combined residential and multi-use environment in which the undergraduates of MIT could interact with other members of the community. Simmons includes many common spaces on the first floor that are intended to welcome our colleagues from across campus and our neighbors from Cambridge.
The Residential Scholars program is meant to enrich MIT with new ideas and perspectives from people from elsewhere who are eager to share their wealth of life experiences. The program is composed of faculty members on sabbatical leave from other institutions,international scholars, artists, industry professionals, and a limited number of MIT faculty members who have shown, by a history of contributions to the community, a reason to participate in this program.
The program is based in Simmons Hall but services the entire community. The Scholars, working with the permanent House Team, typically run programs on Friday evenings. Since its inception in 2003, the financial resources to support the program primarily have been provided by the scholarly allowance associated with the William and Betsy Leitch Professorship. The community is indebted to the Leitchs for their generous support of this program.
The House Team
The Heads of House, Area Director, House Manager, and GRAs form the House Team, which provide academic and personal guidance to students to help them get the most out of their time at MIT. The House Team fosters a living environment that is safe, welcoming, and inclusive of all community members. The Heads of House and Area Director may represent Simmons students on various committees and task forces in addition to their regular duties.