Harvard Names First Black President as Claudine Gay Succeeds Bacow

Harvard University named Claudine Gay as the Ivy League school’s first Black president and just the second woman to hold the post.

She will succeed Lawrence Bacow on July 1, the university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, said in a statement Thursday.

Gay, 52, joined Harvard’s faculty in 2006 as a professor of government and served as dean of social science from 2015 to 2018. She earned a bachelor’s degree from Stanford University, followed by a doctorate in government from Harvard.

“Harvard has a duty to lean in and engage and to be in service to the world,” Gay said at a news conference following the announcement of her appointment. “Our people, our collections, our research, how we use our convening power, in business, in law, in public policy, for all of that our commitment must be to openness and engagement.”

The daughter of Haitian immigrants, Gay has focused her studies on political participation, voting behavior, public opinion and the interplay of race, ethnicity and politics in the US, Penny Pritzker, chair of Harvard’s search committee, said in the statement.

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[RichardTavilla]

This woman just proved that she is evil beyond any recognizable human comprehension

[Stephanie_]

Bill Ackman: Claudine Gay is a DEI hire based on EQUITY and not MERIT.

[letsgetlit]

What does that even mean? Lowering the standards to optics now?

[rogerlombardo]

Being a first because your black and look at the decision she made, I urge all white groups to protest on her behalf campus

[Damon_Fall-Guy_Mitchell]

& how many years have they been open ?

[Johnstillsaves]

This is just sad. Look at these comments.