Harvard University has announced Claudine Gay as its 30th president. Ms Gay, of Haitian descent, is a Professor of Government, African and African-American Studies.

Ms Gay, who will officially resume the position in July 2023, is the first black president and the second woman to hold the office in the 400 years of the institution’s existence. 

Ms Gay’s appointment comes at a momentous time for the university, as it faces a landmark Supreme Court ruling that will require it to revisit its long-standing admissions standards, which have been criticised as racist -favouring white and rich students.

She is presently the Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences at Harvard, having climbed through the administrative ranks since joining the faculty’s department of African and African-American Studies in 2008. 

In 1998, she received her PhD in Government from the institution. She taught at Stanford University, where she received her bachelor’s degree in economics.

Director of Harvard’s Hutchins Center for African & African-American Research, Henry Gates Jr described Ms Gay’s appointment as an “academic history” for the university. 

“This is a victory for diversity and excellence. Claudine has proven herself a first-class academic leader as well as a rigorous scholar in her own right,” 

“And under her leadership, Harvard will continue to be a model in upholding the highest standards of academic excellence, advancing the frontiers of knowledge while also advancing strategies of inclusion,” Mr Gates said. 

Ms Gay, in her address, said there is a need for Harvard to position itself as bringing urgent and brave thinking to address the world’s challenges. 

“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. There is an urgency for Harvard to be engaged with the world and to bring bold, brave, pioneering thinking to our greatest challenges,” Ms Gay said.