Claudine Gay, current Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences at Harvard, was elected as the 30th President in Harvard University’s 386-year history. She became the first Black person and second woman to serve as Harvard’s President when she assumed office in July 2023.
Gay succeeded President Lawrence Bacow, who announced last summer that he would step down in June 2023 after serving 5 years in the role. Bacow called his time as President “the most interesting and satisfying” of his career.
The daughter of Haitian immigrants and a Harvard alum, Gay earned her PhD in Government from Harvard before becoming a professor of political science, government, and African and African American Studies. She has received praise for her scholarship on issues of race, politics and political behavior in America.
Gay said she feels “absolutely humbled by the confidence” the governing board has placed in her and is “incredibly humbled by the prospect of succeeding President Bacow.”
Historic Appointment Celebrated by Harvard Community
The appointment of Gay as President was celebrated across the Harvard community. Penny Pritzker, Chair of the Presidential Search Committee, called Gay “a remarkable leader” who has done “outstanding work through unusually challenging times.”
Gay imagined a future Harvard that is “more connected and inclusive with an even greater impact on the issues that matter.” She said, “Harvard has a duty to lean in and engage and to be in service to the world.”
Gay added that “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.”
Students, faculty and alumni have expressed excitement and pride at the historic nature of Gay’s appointment as the first Black President. Many see it as an important step forward for representation and diversity at the university.
President-Elect Focuses on Transition and Key Appointments
Since her confirmation, Gay has focused on the transition process and making key appointments as she prepares to take office in July.
In May, she appointed Katherine G. O’Dair as her chief of staff when she becomes President. Gay also named interim deans for the Harvard School of Public Health and the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences.
Additionally, Gay selected Hopi E. Hoekstra to succeed her as the next Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences. Hoekstra was a professor in Harvard’s Organismic and Evolutionary Biology and Molecular and Cellular Biology departments.
Gay said there is an “urgency” for Harvard under her leadership “To engage with the world and to bring bold, brave, pioneering thinking to our greatest challenges.”
Her presidency began just after a pivotal Supreme Court decision ending affirmative action in college admissions. However, Gay has pledged Harvard will remain “steadfast” in fostering a diverse student body despite the ruling.
