Harvard University made history on Friday as it officially welcomed Claudine Gay as its first Black president. Gay is also the second woman to hold this esteemed position at the university, reports CNN.
“I stand before you on this stage with the weight and the honor of being a first,”
Gay said during the inauguration ceremony in Cambridge. Since its establishment in 1640, Harvard University has seen 29 presidents before Claudine Gay assumed office as its 30th president. During her inaugural speech, Gay outlined her vision for the Ivy League institution.
“I stand before you today humbled by the prospect of leading Harvard, emboldened by the trust you have placed in me, and energized by your own commitment to this singular institution and to the common cause of higher education,”
she asserted.
“The courage of this University — our resolve, against all odds — to question the world as it is and imagine and make a better one: It is what Harvard was made to do,”
she added.
During a Friday afternoon speech, Maura Healey, the Governor of Massachusetts and an alumni of Harvard University, recognized the importance of Claudine Gay’s presidency.
“President Gay, your presidency is truly historic,”
Healy said.
“You have my admiration and support.”
The Harvard Corporation and the University’s principal governing board said they had performed an intensive search before electing Gay.
“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.”
After completing her Ph.D. in government at Harvard in 1998, Gay became a member of the Harvard faculty in 2006. Her exceptional dissertation in political science earned her the Toppan Prize, as stated by the Harvard Gazette. Prior to her current role, Gay held the position of Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences. Additionally, she is a leading scholar of political behavior and has played a key role in establishing the Inequality in America Initiative launched in 2017, which aims to explore social and economic inequality through a multidisciplinary approach.
#Clique, what are your thoughts?
