Harvard names Claudine Gay first Black president in its history

Gina Martinez
Updated ·2 min read
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In a historic move, Claudine Gay has been selected as Harvard University's 30th president, the Ivy League school announced Thursday. Gay, the founding chair of Harvard's Inequality in America Initiative and the dean of Harvard's Faculty of Arts and Sciences since 2018, is the school's first Black leader and only the second woman to be appointed its president.

The daughter of Haitian immigrants, Gay graduated from Stanford and then earned her Ph.D. in government at Harvard in 1998, winning the Toppan Prize for best dissertation in political science, according to the university's Harvard Gazette.

Gay was elected to the presidency by the Harvard Corporation, the university's principal governing board.

Claudine Gay speaks to a crowd at Harvard University in Boston, Massachusetts, on Dec. 15, 2022, after being named Harvard's next president.  / Credit: Erin Clark/The Boston Globe/Getty Images
Claudine Gay speaks to a crowd at Harvard University in Boston, Massachusetts, on Dec. 15, 2022, after being named Harvard's next president. / Credit: Erin Clark/The Boston Globe/Getty Images

She will be succeeding current Harvard President Lawrence S. Bacow, who announced he was retiring in June after five years at the helm. His predecessor, historian Drew Gilpin Faust, was the first woman to serve as Harvard president since its founding in 1636.

Gay's tenure is set to begin on July 1, 2023.

In a video posted by the university, Gay said she was "humbled" to be elected, and thanked Bacow for his guidance.

"It has been a privilege to work with Larry over the last five years," Gay said. "He has shown me that leadership isn't about one person. It's about all of us, moving forward together. And that's a lesson I take with me into this next journey."

"As I start my tenure, there's so much more for me to discover about this institution that I love. And I'm looking forward to doing just that, with our whole community," Gay added.

Bascow said the university's future is "very bright" with Gay at the helm.

"Claudine is a person of bedrock integrity," Bacow said in a statement. "She will provide Harvard with the strong moral compass necessary to lead this great university. The search committee has made an inspired choice for our 30th president. Under Claudine Gay's leadership, Harvard's future is very bright."

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