On Thursday, Harvard University announced that it will appoint Claudine Gay, the school’s dean of Faculty Arts and Sciences, as its 30th president. Gay will be the first person of African descent and the second woman to ever hold the position.
Having joined Harvard as a professor in 2006, Claudine Gay, the daughter of Haitian immigrants, will replace Lawrence Bacow as president of the nearly 400-year-old Ivy League institution. She will officially take over the role in July 2023.
As the institution in Cambridge, Massachusetts confronts challenges to its admissions processes, Gay, who is 52 years old, will take up the position on July 1st. 2023.
A complaint filed against Harvard in 2014 alleges that the university discriminates against Asian candidates on the basis of race or ethnicity, in violation of the U.S. Constitution.
Moreover, the university has been called out for “legacy admissions,” which give preference to the children of wealthy benefactors, influential alumni, and/or talented athletes.
