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Claudine Gay named 30th president of Harvard University, will be schools first Black leader

Source: Boston Globe / Getty

On Dec. 15, Harvard University announced that Dr. Claudine Gay will serve as the Ivy League institution’s 30th president, making her the first Black person to hold the position. She is also just the second woman ever to be appointed to the role.  

MORE: Sandra Douglass Morgan Becomes First Black Woman Team President In NFL’s 102-Year History

Gay, who is a leading expert in various topics, including race and politics, served as Harvard’s Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences since 2018.  

She is sure to make an incredible impact at Harvard.

From MadameNoire:

Dr. Claudine Gay began working at the university in 2006 as a government professor and became an educator of African and African American Studies the following year.

The university appointed her as a Wilbur A. Cowett Professor of Government in 2015 and she served as Dean of Social Science from then until 2018.

Gay’s also closely worked with Harvard’s outgoing president, Lawrence S. Bacow, for the past five years.

“Claudine is a person of bedrock integrity,” said Bacow. “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.”

The Harvard Corporation, the university’s main governing board, and the institution’s Board of Overseers were at the helm of Gay’s election.

The academic leader’s presidency at the university will begin in July 2023.

Claudine Gay On Harvard’s Future

Gay believes that in a world of “remarkable and accelerating change,” Harvard’s “long history of rising to meet new challenges” will help the institution leap forward.

“With the strength of this extraordinary institution behind us, we enter a moment of possibility, one that calls for deeper collaboration across the university, across all of our remarkable schools. There is an urgency for Harvard to be engaged with the world and to bring bold, brave, pioneering thinking to our greatest challenges,” she stated. “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.”

Read more about Gay via The Harvard Gazette.

Help us in congratulating Claudine Gay!

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