Dr. Gay will be the first African American, and second woman, to ascend to the presidency, succeeding Lawrence S. Bacow.
Harvard University has appointed Claudine Gay, the dean of Harvard’s Faculty of Arts and Sciences as the university’s next president.
Dr. Gay will be the first African American, and second woman, to ascend to the presidency, succeeding Lawrence S. Bacow.
Gay’s appointment was announced in a statement released on Thursday by Penny Pritzker Chair, Presidential Search Committee Senior Fellow, Harvard Corporation, stating that her tenure would start in July 2023.
The statement reads in part: “On behalf of Harvard’s governing boards, I am extremely pleased to announce that Claudine Gay has been elected to become the 30th President of Harvard University, starting July 1, 2023.
“Claudine is a remarkable leader who is profoundly devoted to sustaining and enhancing Harvard’s academic excellence, to championing both the value and the values of higher education and research, to expanding opportunity, and to strengthening Harvard as a fount of ideas and a force for good in the world. As the Edgerley Family Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences since 2018, and previously as Dean of Social Science, Claudine has brought to her roles a rare blend of incisiveness and inclusiveness, intellectual range and strategic savvy, institutional ambition and personal humility, a respect for enduring ideals and a talent for catalyzing change. She has a bedrock commitment to free inquiry and expression, as well as a deep appreciation for the diverse voices and views that are the lifeblood of a university community.”
“The election of our new president marks the culmination of a robust and intensive search process. The process formally began in early July, with an email from the search committee to more than 400,000 faculty, students, staff, alumni, higher education leaders, and others well positioned to provide advice. Members of the search committee spoke personally with more than 150 individuals to solicit their advice and nominations. In addition, we conducted dozens of consultations with key faculty leadership groups as well as groups of alumni and friends from across Harvard’s faculties and schools.
“The outreach process generated more than 600 nominees, and the search committee met formally some twenty times—for hours at a stretch—in addition to many informal engagements, to arrive at our nomination. With the benefit of input from a great many people and groups, we spent time considering the major opportunities and challenges facing Harvard, the key qualities to seek in our next president, and—ultimately—the person best suited to lead the university in the years ahead,” the statement added.
Gay’s appointment comes as the university faces a pivotal Supreme Court decision that may force it to revise its longstanding admissions processes, which have been criticised for taking into account factors that favour white and wealthy candidates while also using affirmative action to bolster enrollment by Black and Hispanic students.