Claudine Gay Becomes First Black Harvard President

Dr. Claudine Gay has made history, becoming the first Black president of Harvard University.

Gay brings a plethora of experience to the position, exuding Black woman magic against several odds. The scholar graduated from Stanford before moving on to Harvard, where she obtained her Ph.D. in government in 1998. The daughter of Haitian immigrants would go on to win the Toppan Prize for best dissertation in political science. She also made strides in addressing racism plaguing the country as founding chair of Harvard’s Inequality in America Initiative. Since 2018, she Dr. Gay has served as Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences.

Lawrence S. Bacow, the current president of Harvard, announced in June that he’d be stepping down after five years in the position. Gay will assume his role beginning on July 1st, 2023, as the 30th president and only the second woman appointed to the institution’s highest seat since its foundation in 1636. Gay was elected by the Harvard Corporation, the university’s governing board, following an extensive search for their next leader.

Gay and Bacow have worked closely with one another over the past five years, with him offering immeasurable guidance that she will carry on into her new position.

“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,” Gay said in a video posted to the school’s website.

Bacow is also confident that his successor will lead students in the right direction.

“Under Claudine Gay’s leadership, Harvard’s future is very bright,” he shared in a statement.