In recognition of her contributions to Brown over the last decade, the Brown Alumni Association awarded President Ruth Simmons a Brown Bear Award during Alumni Fall Weekend. President Simmons is the only non-alumna to receive the award.

In 1946, the Brown Alumni Association adopted a recommendation from the Brown Club of New York that a Brown Bear Award be given by the association to recognize “outstanding and wide-ranging personal service rendered to the University over a period of years.”  Each year a committee reviews nominations from alumni and staff and selects one to three recipients, following the original recommendation that “neither financial aid given the University nor achievement in the fields of business or profession” be considered.  Winners of the Brown Bear Award have usually distinguished themselves as volunteers for Brown in more than one area.